Ejected & Dejected: Luka Doncic, Jason Kidd Tossed in Mavs' Deflating Loss to Wolves
After missing the Dallas Mavericks' second night of a back-to-back on Saturday, which ended up being a 100-99 overtime loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Luka Doncic made his return to action against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center on Monday ... and it was a night to forget.
Doncic's night ended earlier than he would've liked, as NBA official Rodney Mott gave him two quick technical fouls late in the third quarter for arguing a night filled with no-calls. Appalled by the ejection, coach Jason Kidd stormed onto the court to get an explanation, and he was ejected as well. The Mavs went on to lose to the Timberwolves in blowout fashion, 116-106. Dallas fell to 15-16, and the Timberwolves improved to 16-15.
Doncic finished the game with just 19 points on 5-17 shooting in 28 minutes of action. He also had six rebounds and seven assists. Even before his third-quarter ejection, the Timberwolves were already having their way with the Mavs after outscoring them 36-14 in the second quarter. Dallas was never able to recover from that meltdown.
Christian Wood started alongside Doncic for the first time this season on Monday night, and things got off to a good start with the Mavs holding a 30-21 lead after the first quarter. That was about the only bright side for the starting unit, though, as each player was in negative double-digits in the box score plus-minus. Wood finished with 15 points and 13 rebounds while shooting just 4-11 from the field in 34 minutes.
The final score ended up being a lot closer than the game actually was for Dallas, and that was largely due to the play of Dāvis Bertans, who poured in 18 points in 16 minutes off the bench. He shot 6-9 on his 3-pointers and ended up being the Mavs' third-leading scorer on the night. Spencer Dinwiddie led the way for Dallas with 20 points and seven assists.
The Mavs had no answers for Anthony Edwards and Naz Reid, as the Timberwolves' duo scored 27 apiece. Minnesota shot 47.2 percent on the night, including 40 percent from deep.
To make things even worse for Dallas, Dorian Finney-Smith had to leave the game with a right adductor strain and didn't return. The Mavs are already missing key contributors Maxi Kleber and Dwight Powell. Dallas was already a .500 team with guys staying relatively healthy at the start of the season, so it'll be interesting to see what happens if injuries continue to pile up.
Next up, the Mavs will stay right where they are, as they play the Timberwolves at Target Center one more time on Wednesday before flying to Houston to finish up their four-game road trip. After a Friday-night matchup with the Houston Rockets, the Mavs will then prepare for their Christmas Day game against LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers at American Airlines Center on Sunday ... the same day Dirk Nowitzki's long-awaited statue will be unveiled.
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