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The Dallas Mavericks had a slow start to Wednesday night’s away matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the lowest-ranked team in the league, falling behind 16-3 to start the first quarter. Head coach Rick Carlisle recognized that the Mavs “had low energy to start the game”.

With the help of Kristaps Porzingis (29 points) and Tim Hardaway Jr. (21 points), Dallas was able to regain control of the game and cruise to a 128-108 victory.

Dallas (23-19) has now won eight of its last 11 games and sits in seventh place for the Western Conference.

After the game, Carlisle awarded Dwight Powell the Defensive Player of the Game Heavyweight Champion of the World Belt.

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Now let's hear Mavs talk:

Jalen Brunson on the Mavericks’ defense:

"I think for us, we're surprising each other every step of the way."

Doncic on the Mavericks’ progress:

"Like I said, we're still improving. There's a long way to go."

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Doncic when asked if the water leak in his hotel room contributed to his slow start:

"Not really. Just a bad start."

Porzingis on the Mavericks’ potential:

"I think we're just getting into a decent rhythm. The schedule eased up a little bit on us, so we cannot let up and feel like we're doing great things."

Carlisle on the slow starts to each half:

"We had to get our bearings and adjust. We were able to do that over 48 minutes."

Carlisle on the Mavericks' chemistry:

"The group's becoming a more and more close-knit group." -

The Mavericks (23-19) will return home to face the Indiana Pacers (20-23) on Friday night at 7:30 CST.

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