Wolves avoid disaster, hang on in nail-biter against short-handed Mavericks

Jaden McDaniels steered the Minnesota Timberwolves away from disaster.

Just when it looked like Minnesota's late-game woes were directing the team towards another disappointment as the Dallas Mavericks cut a double-digit deficit down to a single point, McDaniels hit a critical 3-pointer with 5 minutes, 11 seconds remaining. While that shot made it just a four-point advantage, it was a crucial run-stopper and it provided the Wolves just enough momentum to pull out a 115-114 victory Wednesday night at American Airlines Center in Dallas.

Of course, it's the Minnesota Timberwolves. They couldn't just make it easy on themselves against a short-handed Mavericks team that was without Luka Doncic, Klay Thomson and Dereck Lively II. The Mavericks (23-21) once again found themselves within a point when Kyrie Irving drilled a corner 3-pointer with 22.1 seconds left, making it 112-111.

Dallas intentionally fouled Mike Conley, who made both his free throws to push it back to a three-point edge, and Irving missed a game-tying 3-point attempt with five seconds remaining. McDaniels was then fouled, making 1 of 2 from the free-throw line to push it to a four-point game. Irving made a desperation heave at the buzzer for the final margin.

McDaniels led the Wolves (23-21) with a team-high 27 points, eight rebounds, four steals and three blocks in a terriffic all-around performance. Irving had a game-high 36 points and nine assists to lead the Mavericks.

The Wolves didn't need to make the game so interesting, and at one point, it looked like they had simply outlasted the undermanned Mavericks. Naz Reid hit back-to-back 3s to open the fourth quarter, and Minnesota took a lead as large as 12. Slowly but surely, Dallas found its way back in it, thanks to its own makes and some more mishaps from the Wolves.

PJ Washington, who scored 30 points for the Mavs, made a layup and drew a foul on Reid, cutting the deficit to 101-95. Reid was exasperated about the call and had to be held back by McDaniels and Julius Randle. But that didn't stop him from picking up a brutal technical foul. Irving made the technical free throw and Washington converted on the and-1.

The four-point possession cut the Mavericks' deficit in half from eight to four.

Randle picked up an offensive foul for an illegal screen the next possession, and Irving hit a 3 to cut it to one.

That's when McDaniels hit the crucial 3 with just over five minutes remaining, sparking a mini Wolves run where they once again found some separation. That separation just didn't last long as the Mavericks made them work for the victory.

Despite the Mavericks finding a way back in it, there were several positives before the late-game struggles resurfaced. Conley delivered a vintage performance with 18 points on 6-for-9 shooting, eight assists, five boards and two steals.

All five starters got involved. In addition to McDaniels and Conley, Anthony Edwards finished with 21 points, seven assists and five rebounds. Randle had 16 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals. Rudy Gobert tallied 14 points, six rebounds, three blocks and a pair of assists. The starting five stepped up in a big way on a night the bench struggled.

Ultimately, it was another nail-biter for the Wolves, and this time, they came out on the right side of it.