Doncic, Irving Combine for 69 Points, Leading Mavs Victory Over Timberwolves
DALLAS — Luka Doncic returned to the Dallas Mavericks lineup after a one-game absence due to right ankle swelling, helping to lead a 115-108 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday night. With the victory, the Mavs improved to 22-15 through 37 games, while the Wolves dropped to 25-10.
Doncic and Kyrie Irving set the tone for the Mavs throughout the evening. Dallas' two reigning All-Stars combined for 69 points. Irving was Dallas' leading scorer with 35 points, adding eight rebounds, five assists, three steals, and two blocks. Doncic trailed Irving by just one point, finishing with 34 points, six rebounds, and eight assists.
“It was a good test for us, playing against one of the hottest teams in the league,” Irving said. “Their record speaks for itself. We were dialed in from the beginning, and it feels good when you can kind of go blow for blow with one of the best teams in the league. These are the types of games you want to be a part of. In the regular season, it’s not too often you get to go against some of the best of the best in the league. It was a good effort for us.”
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With Dereck Lively II sidelined, there was a significant contrast in size between both teams' frequently deployed lineups. Minnesota takes pride in staying big, often with two of either Rudy Gobert, Karl-Anthony Towns, or Naz Reid on the floor at all times. For Dallas, Dwight Powell started with Derrick Jones Jr. and Josh Green on the wings
"When teams go small, we're pretty committed to staying big and working our way through it," Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. "For us, the four has been able to guard most nights this year. When that happens, we'll be able to survive that."
With Gobert setting the tone with four of the Timberwolves' eight first-quarter offensive rebounds, the Mavs were strongly outproduced on the boards, whether Powell was the five or the team deployed a small ball group, including Grant Williams in that role. With a combined 18 points from Doncic (11 points) and Irving (seven points), Dallas led 30-29 at the end of the first quarter.
“It’s the mindset every night. That’s one of the pros of being big. You can really impact and hurt teams on the glass," Gobert said. "I feel like when they went small in the first half, we kind of took them away from that by just crashing the glass and drawing fouls and attacking the paint. Like I said, when we are patient offensively, when we move the ball and make second motions, it puts me and the other guys in a position to get offensive rebounds."
The Mavs' offense succeeded early, with Irving attacking drop coverage for pull-up jumpers and hunting Mike Conley for a quick post-up on a switch. Minnesota was reluctant to give up switches to avoid relying on a mismatch to hold its own. Dallas often put Towns into the action by playing out of double drag for Doncic to attack the paint, while Irving took advantage to get into gaps. On the other end, Doncic was tasked with guarding Towns and got several stops.
“I’m strong. People don’t think that, but I think I have some of the most powerful legs in the NBA. I love it," Doncic said of guarding Towns. "We said we were going to double, but I said, ‘don’t double’. Let’s see if I can get a couple stops. I like playing post.”
Dallas began mixing it up offensively, highlighted by an inbounds play involving Irving as an off-ball screener for Doncic in a Zoom action, leading to a wide-open finish on the cut for Irving. The Mavs also posted up Doncic to force the defense to pre-rotate from a different spot, setting up a closeout attack for Jones on the weak side. Williams was at the five midway through the second quarter, handled a Veer switch for a wall up, then spaced out to give Doncic room to finish at the rim.
When Irving checked back in midway through the period, the Mavs deployed Doncic in a Horns set on the elbow to get him a touch, continuing to put pressure on the Timberwolves' paint defense without Gobert on the court. Doncic got the free throw line as a result but split his attempts. When Gobert returned, Williams was still at the five and hit a pick-and-pop look after Doncic drew two defenders on a drive.
The Mavs' small ball group continued to put the Timberwolves' defense in a tough position to handle premier talents in space. Irving took advantage by attacking after a wild no-look pass from Doncic after a drive, using a pass fake to get the defender to jump after the closeout while Williams sealed Gobert to create an easy finish at the rim. Dallas led 52-48 with 3:06 remaining in the opening half. Irving later faked out Gobert after drawing two on the drive by leveraging the threat of hitting the pop, creating another wide-open finish attempt.
With the Mavs not closing possessions well enough on the boards while beginning to turn the ball over, the Timberwolves stayed within striking distance for the remainder of the opening half. Edwards was fouled on the break after a turnover, resulting in two made free throws — cutting Dallas' lead to one point. Doncic answered back with a step-back 3-pointer. Doncic closed the first half attacking from the weak side after Irving drew two defenders in a ball screening action, resulting in finding Williams on a dropoff pass. The Mavs were up 60-56 at halftime.
After halftime, the Timberwolves blitzed Doncic in ball-screening actions, creating mixed results. Irving used an Iverson cut into a catch-and-shoot jumper, then Minnesota forced a turnover for a wide-open transition score on the next play. Irving made it a point to get aggressive, with Doncic drawing attention.
Minnesota tied it up 66-66 before taking a two-point lead, with Edwards finishing at the rim due to a failed steal attempt by the Mavs opening up the lane. Dallas was intent on attacking Gobert in space; he picked up two fouls midway through the period, resulting in him entering the bench at 7:19.
After that point, Reid was the only big on the court for the Timberwolves. Dallas heated up from the perimeter, with Irving making two catch-and-shoot looks and Doncic hitting a step-back, proving pivotal in taking an 80-75 advantage midway through the third quarter. The Mavs returned to a small ball group with Williams at the five out of a timeout.
"When you're small, you've got to figure out — if you can't protect the rim, you've got to do something," Kidd said. "The deflections, being aggressive, trying to not let stars play sometimes, trying to have the ball find other guys, and being able to rebound. The guys really have taken to that and understanding they're following the gameplan and the trust is there between the coaches and players."
Doncic hit a few tough step-backs from the perimeter as the Mavs' solo star on the floor late in the third quarter as both Gobert and Towns were on the sidelines before Irving checked back in with 58.2 seconds left. With Doncic posting up on an inbounds play, he continued to put pressure on the defense with the spacing afforded by small ball, finding Tim Hardaway Jr. in the weak-side corner for a make. Doncic capitalized again, getting to the rim for a wide-open finish, establishing a 91-82 edge entering the fourth quarter.
The Timberwolves opened the final period with Towns and Gobert on the court, while Irving was on the floor to lead the bench group while Doncic got a brief rest. A possession that stood out involved Dallas having Irving run double drag, ending with a Veer screen for Hardaway to curl into a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer, which he made. Irving pushed the lead back to nine points after attacking Conley in the post for a pull-up jumper before Doncic returned to the floor with 8:32 remaining in regulation.
Edwards, who often got to the rim throughout the night, heated up in the fourth quarter, with his teammates also beginning to convert from the perimeter at a strong clip for a stretch, cutting Dallas' lead to just 100-98 entering a timeout. Towns hit a go-ahead 3-pointer after, followed by achieving an and-one finish on a drive. Minnesota went up by four as a result. Edwards put Minnesota up six with a short-range pull-up.
"I thought the group being down six was a great test of character and trust," Kidd said. "Those guys did a great job of hanging together and finding a way to win."
With the Timberwolves emphasizing blitzing Doncic in clutch time, the Mavs relied more on execution, playing out of short-roll. Powell pulled off an and-one after Doncic found him deep in the paint, cutting Minnesota's lead to three points with 3:30 still on the game clock. Irving tied it up (106-106), playing out of triple-threat, using a jab step to hit a 3-pointer at the top of the perimeter. He then turned it over in an isolation against Jaden McDaniels but stole it back from Gobert, resulting in a go-ahead catch-and-shoot jumper in the weak-side corner.
"Just like the last time he (Kyrie Irving) played Minnesota here, he went off in the fourth quarter," Kidd said. "I think, again, Kai (Kyrie Irving) was great. Luka was great. Those guys set the tone — not just on the offensive end but on the defensive end. And then I thought the trust for one another to not just take turns down the stretch but to make plays for their teammates. Kai makes two big 3s, one off of DP (Dwight Powell)'s assist; he's in the corner — a heck of a catch, a heck of a pass, big-time shot."
Jones put the Mavs up five with 24.1 seconds remaining after attacking the rim for a dunk out of the short roll with Doncic being blitzed again, with Powell coming from the dunker spot to seal off Gobert.
“[Out of the timeout], they told me to shoot the ball again," Jones said. "When I caught the ball, I saw Rudy [Gobert] was caught up with Dwight [Powell], so I saw a free lane.”
Minnesota turned it over on the inbounds pass after the play, then fouled Doncic to send him to the free throw line, and he made both attempts while the American Airlines Center crowd chanted "M-V-P." Dallas had sealed the victory at that point.
Minnesota shot poorly on the night, going 41-94 (43.6 percent) from the floor, 13-41 (31.7 percent), and 13-21 (61.9 percent) on free throws while finishing with only 108 points — meaning they are now 2-8 in 10 games when scoring 115 or fewer points. With an efficient scoring night, Edwards was a clear standout performer with 36 points, 10 rebounds, and three assists. Towns scored 24 points but had an off-night from the perimeter, shooting 3-9. Gobert caused problems on the boards, hauling in 17, but had five turnovers, with the Mavs making him make quick reads on the short roll after getting the ball out of Edwards' hands in key points.
Aside from the regular superstar performances from Doncic and Irving, the Mavs received key contributions from Jones, finishing with 12 points, 10 rebounds, and three blocks. Powell was the only traditional big to play but totaled nine points, six rebounds, and four assists in 28 minutes. Josh Green added four points, five rebounds, and one block, starting in place of the injured Dante Exum.
Despite conceding size the whole night, even when Powell was on the floor, the Mavs still hauled in 15 offensive rebounds compared to the Timberwolves' 18. The superior efficiency the team achieved by making the gamble with their small ball to go five-out throughout the night and be versatile on defense worked on the night.
On Wednesday, the Mavs continue their seven-game homestand with a matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies.
