Game. Blouses.
Not that it matters much, but the Dallas Mavericks (19-36) lost their 10th straight game and their first out of the NBA All-Star Break on Friday, 122-111, to the Minnesota Timberwolves (35-22) at Target Center. The Timberwolves donned their Prince-inspired City Edition jerseys and served pancakes (probably) in the visitors’ locker room after beating the Mavericks for the third straight time this year.
Anthony Edwards led all scorers with 40 points and grabbed six rebounds in the win. Naz Reid added 21 and seven off the bench, while Rudy Gobert abused Dallas’ small frontcourt for 22 points on 9-of-10 shooting and 17 rebounds. Khris Middleton led seven Mavericks in double figures with 18 points and seven rebounds in the loss. Marvin Bagley III added 15 points and 13 boards.
Reid, Donte DiVencenzo and Jaden McDaniels combined to make it rain purple, knocking down all five of their first-quarter 3-point attempts and helping the Wolves gradually extend their lead as the frame wore on. The Mavericks countered with… well, no one. Cooper Flagg (foot) and Max Christie (ankle) were both held out of the matchup to gear up for the all-important stretch run. We laugh to keep ourselves from crying, don’t we, Mavs fans? Minnesota led 40-25 after one in a first quarter that saw 10 combined turnovers.
The Timberwolves continued to turn the ball over in the second quarter, but it didn’t matter. The Mavs couldn’t take advantage of the extra possessions to carve into Minnesota’s lead before the break, and Dallas trailed 69-57 at halftime, despite nine Timberwolves giveaways. Edwards led all scorers with 20 points and had four rebounds in the first half. He went off for 17 on 6-of-10 shooting in the second quarter.
Dallas tried to mount a comeback in the third quarter, continuing an extended 24-8 run from late in the second through the first four minutes of the third. Washington helped the Mavs creep back in it with his second 3-pointer of the game from the right corner to bring Dallas to within 77-75 with 7:23 left in the frame. The Wolves took a 96-88 advantage into the fourth quarter.
Klay Thompson got hot down the stretch to make things interesting. He scored his first basket of the game, a 3-pointer from the left wing, with 1:52 left in the third quarter, then poured in eight more in the first six minutes of the fourth quarter. His third 3-point make of the game came with 7:23 left in the game and brought the Mavericks to within two, down just 103-101. Tyus Jones scored the next time down to tie the game and force a Timberwolves timeout after tracking down Thompson’s missed 3-point attempt for an offensive board.
But Edwards nailed a step-back 3-pointer late in the shot clock out of the timeout to give Minnesota the lead for good, with 6:37 left. Naz Reid hit his fourth of the game a minute later to put the Wolves up 109-105 with 5:25 left. The Timberwolves did just enough to keep the pesky Mavericks at arm’s length the rest of the way.
Hot hand, then good hands
The Timberwolves canned eight of their 13 first-quarter 3-point attempts and shot north of 58% from the field in the opener to put the game effectively out of reach early for the undermanned Mavericks. When the early hot hand deserted them, the Wolves made up for it on the offensive glass. The Minnesota front line gobbled up 10 offensive rebounds in the first half, resulting in five easy put-backs for center Rudy Gobert. Dallas came into the game allowing the third-most offensive rebounds in the NBA, at 12.4 per contest.
Minnesota ended up shooting 16-of-42 (38.1%) from beyond the arc in the win and out-rebounded the Mavs, 66-58. The Mavs gave up 17 offensive boards in the loss.
Tryouts?
Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd said before the game that one of the things the team wanted to do was to get a good hard look at AJ Johnson, who was brought in from the Washington Wizards in exchange for Anthony Davis at the NBA Trade Deadline, and two-way rookie Miles Kelly. Johnson’s first bucket as a Maverick came on a high-flying second-quarter fast-break lob from Naji Marshall after a P.J. Washington steal, to bring Dallas back to within 45-37. He turned the ball over on the Mavs’ next possession. Johnson is a 21-year-old second-year player who decommitted from the University of Texas a couple years ago in favor of starting his professional career in Australia after high school.
Johnson played just five minutes in the loss, all in the first half, and Kelly didn’t get in until the fourth quarter. Even if it didn’t materialize on Friday, expect Dallas to get extended looks at these guys over the last 27 games of the season.
Where’s Washington
Someone had to score baskets for the short-handed Mavericks in this one. Despite all the missing pieces coming into the game for Dallas, they were still scheduled to play 48 full minutes on Friday. Washington would get every opportunity to turn a corner, but he turned in another stinker through the first half against Minnesota.
Washington shot 2-of-8 from the field in the first half for five points, as newcomer Khris Middleton led Dallas with 12 points at the half. He hit a 3-pointer in the game’s opening moments, then scored just two points over the next 22-plus minutes. For much of the 2025-26 season, he’s been in full-on regression mode after cementing himself as one of the most important Mavericks on the roster a year ago.
Washington got going a little early in the third quarter, scoring in transition less than two minutes into the second half before knocking down a mid-range jumper two possessions later to bring the Mavs to within 75-68, as part of an extended 24-8 run from the end of the second through start of the third. His second 3-ball of the game put him at 12 points with 7:23 remaining in the third and brought Dallas back to within two, down just 77-75.
Washington was not eligible to be traded at the deadline this season, but will be this offseason. It will be interesting to see what kind of market, if any, there is for him. He finished with 12 points on 5-of-17 shooting and 12 rebounds in Friday’s loss at Minnesota.