One Clear Positive and Negative From Timberwolves' Blowout Win vs. Mavs

The Timberwolves strolled into Target Center Thursday evening after a three-day break, their first break in between this season longer than one day.

Awaiting them were the surging Mavericks, winners of three straight and coming off a victory Monday against the Pacers that featured Cooper Flagg scoring 43 points and Kyrie Irving scoring 35.

Dallas posed a well-timed test for a Wolves team that entered play Thursday as winners of four straight, and operating like a mature bunch, even without Anthony Edwards. But three of the last four wins were against teams with records below .500. The Mavs should have given the Wolves a run for their money, but Dallas ended up looking like a sub-.500 team Thursday.

The Wolves beat Dallas 133-94 by dominating the second half 66-42 to tack on an impressive fifth-straight win. Here is one clear positive and one negative from Thursday’s blowout:

Positive: the point guard play

Dallas entered Thursday limiting its opponents to 31.3% from three-point range, the third-best in the NBA. The Mavs have scrappy, versatile defenders that can muck up a team’s perimeter play.

But LaMelo Ball and Bones Hyland—Minnesota’s point guard carousel—completely obliterated any would-be stingy defense from Dallas.

DO THE SKELLY CELLY 🫳 pic.twitter.com/sOqcNE1eDM
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) November 13, 2026

Hyland immediately sparked winning energy when he subbed into the game in the first quarter. Hyland scored eight points and dished out three assists in four first-quarter minutes. He finished the night with 24 points in 23 minutes. He dished out eight assists while committing just one turnover and shot 7 of 10 from the floor and 5 of 6 from deep.

Hyland did score nine of his 24 points in the fourth quarter, which was primarily garbage time. But the majority of his impact against Dallas was when the Wolves were still putting together their victory.

Minnesota needs Hyland to keep being a positive force in the minutes with Ball on the bench. He doesn’t need to score 24 points every night, but he needs to handle pressure and be a viable No. 2 point guard. Thursday’s win showed that when both he and Ball have it going, Minnesota’s offense becomes equipped with unrelenting dynamic on-ball play.

MELO

WHAAAATTT?!? pic.twitter.com/GuDhsCcWDh
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) November 13, 2026

Ball’s night concluded with eight minutes left in the fourth. His night didn’t end because of foul trouble, which he struggled with early in the season.

No, Ball earned extended rest in the fourth because he pioneered Minnesota’s blowout. He finished with 22 points and nine assists in 25 minutes on 8 of 14 from the floor and 6 of 10 from deep.

Ball controlled all aspects of his team’s offense the way few players can. He had Dallas’ defense on a tight string all night. Ball head-faked three-point attempts from four feet behind the line, and the Mavs bit. Ball drew two defenders in pick-and-rolls and made the right pass every time. Ball zipped passes into extremely tight windows. He ripped in euphoric threes.

The Wolves outscored Dallas by 24 points with Ball on the court. Over the last five games, Ball is averaging 24.4 points and 6.2 assists on 53.1% from the floor and 47.9% from deep.

Not too bad for a circus wrapped in a heavily tattooed body.

Negative: first-half transition defense

Minnesota committed 11 first-half turnovers, which the Mavs converted into 25 points. Dallas also had 15 fastbreak points at halftime, just below its sixth-best season average (16.6).

The Wolves were producing quality shots and moving the ball well in the first half, so it was easier to stomach their turnover woes. However, Minnesota’s transition defense in the first half (especially the first quarter) was porous.

Dallas ball handlers raced up the court off Wolves makes, misses, and turnovers and were met with little to no point-of-attack resistance. The Wolves have struggled with perimeter-containing defense in the past, and typically when they have, it was a game-long issue that either kept their opponent in the game or resulted in them losing.

But this year’s team is different than before, and they just keep on proving that notion. In the second half, the Wolves committed just six turnovers, assisted 17 times, scored 66 points, and shot 54.3% from the floor.

The Mavs recorded four points off turnovers in the second half and eight fastbreak points.

Minnesota erased its biggest negative of the night after the first half as it cruised to a relatively picture-perfect win. This Wolves team continues to prove that they are different.

They are different than the negative narratives. They are different than years past. They are a mature group winning games with complete effort and high focus, and much of their production has come on the back of their quarterback point guard, who commanded a fifth straight win for his team Thursday at Target Center.

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