Rudy Gobert had 20 points and 11 rebounds, and Anthony Edwards scored a season-high 44 points to help the Minnesota Timberwolves hold on for a 118-110 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night. The Timberwolves were able to maintain their lead throughout the game.
On the second night of back-to-back games, the Mavericks did not have Luka Doncic available for an appearance. Thursday, Dallas was defeated by Cleveland by a score of 113-110.
A total of ten points were scored by Karl-Anthony Towns for the state of Minnesota, which brought their home record to 13-1 thus far this season.
At the halfway point of the third period, the Timberwolves were trailing by one point. However, they went on a 15-3 run to take control of the game and continue to lead the rest of the way.
Although Kyrie Irving missed his eleventh consecutive game due to a right heel injury, Doncic was unable to play because of left quadriceps pain, which caused him to miss his third game of the season. In the game that Dallas won on Christmas Day against Phoenix, Doncic worsened a quadriceps injury, according to the coach of the Dallas team, Jason Kidd.
Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 32 points off the bench for Dallas, and Jaden Hardy contributed 17 points for the team despite the absence of its two leading scorers. Five of the Mavericks’ seven games have been losses.
Edwards scored 14 of his points and aggressively went after Dallas’ defense, which allowed Minnesota to race to an 18-point edge in the first quarter. This gave the impression that Minnesota was prepared to easily defeat the Mavericks, who were down to a few players.
Dallas was able to stay in the game because to the turnovers committed by the Wolves, and Hardaway’s shooting supplied the much-needed spark.
In total, Minnesota committed 22 turnovers, which resulted in the Mavericks scoring 29 points.
Hardaway concluded the game with 18 of his points coming from the second half. He hit 11 of 19 from the field and 5 of 11 from three-point range, and he knocked down numerous shots with his hand in his face and finished with 18 points.
However, Edwards was the one who ignited the rally in the third quarter by scoring seven of the fifteen points that were scored during the run. In the fourth quarter, Dallas attempted to get within four points of Minnesota, but Minnesota was able to maintain their lead thanks to consecutive three-pointers made by Kyle Anderson.
