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MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Timberwolves scored 74 points in the paint on 37-of-54 shooting Thursday in a 133-94 win over the Dallas Mavericks at Target Center. Minnesota also made 15 3-pointers and won second-chance scoring 25-12.
The loss ended Dallas’ three-game winning streak and dropped the Mavericks to 7-5 in the first game of a three-game road trip. Minnesota won its fifth straight to move to 9-3.
Rudy Gobert and Joan Beringer combined for 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting, 15 rebounds, and 5 blocks. Naji Marshall, who finished with 13 points and 4 assists for Dallas, went 4-of-10 from the field.
“I think it’s just us. I don’t think we was connected tonight,” Marshall said. “I don’t think we followed the game plan well tonight. Coach put a very good game plan together for us, and I think we let that slip. So those are good players over there. They got some guys over there who do their thing. So it’s our job to stay connected and prevent stuff like that from happening.”
Minnesota Outscored Dallas 62-28 In The Paint After The First Quarter
Dallas won the paint 14-12 in the first quarter. Minnesota outscored the Mavericks 62-28 inside the rest of the way, including 24-12 in the second quarter and 20-10 in the third.
The Timberwolves grabbed 8 offensive rebounds to Dallas’ 14 and still made all 10 of their second-chance field goals. Synergy Sports data charted Minnesota at 1.385 points per possession on 13 cuts and 1.800 on 5 putbacks. Dallas scored 0.500 points per possession on its 4 cuts.
Jaden McDaniels finished with 16 points and 9 rebounds, 4 of them offensive, and scored 8 points in a third quarter Minnesota won 36-17. Beringer added 13 points and 9 rebounds off the bench.
Minnesota entered the night first in the NBA in defensive rating at 106.1. Dallas shot 21-of-42 in the paint, and Minnesota blocked 7 shots.
“Are they number one in defense efficiency in the league now?” Mavericks coach Dusty May said. “I mean, when you’re number one in this league in anything, you’re pretty proficient in that area. When you just look at their team speed and the way, the intensity that they’re playing with, and then obviously it’s a luxury to have two rim protectors behind you.”
Minnesota scored 36 of its 67 first-half points in the paint. The Timberwolves shot 61.4% before halftime.
“I mean, obviously flush it emotionally, but no, even in the first half when we’re playing well, we give them a couple easy baskets by falling asleep on defense,” May explained. “And those are the ones where if you’re gonna give them those types of baskets and then they’re gonna be making the step-back threes, then you’re in a tough spot. You can’t give them the baskets off of your mistakes.”
“You gotta find a way to make them earn all of them, like Melo and Bones and those guys, they earn them individually, one-on-one with great play,” May continued. “But it’s the others that we can’t get hustled, we can’t get outhustled. We can’t have numbers break turnovers, things like that.”
Zaccharie Risacher On Communication And The Game Plan
Zaccharie Risacher scored 22 points off the bench on 9-of-14 shooting. Minnesota scored 12 of its 25 second-chance points before halftime and shot 59.4% through three quarters.
“I agree. I agree,” Risacher said. “I feel like we also got to do a better job to execute the game plan and, like, be there for each other.”
“And we’re gonna do a better job, basically,” Risacher continued.
Minnesota assisted on 33 of its 52 field goals. LaMelo Ball had 9 assists, and Bones Hyland had 8.
“I feel like we let them play their basketball, and I feel like, talking about me, like, putting more pressure on the ball, like, getting physical, so they’re not as comfortable as they were,” Risacher explained. “Helping each other out, I mean, that’s what we’ve been doing, and that’s how we, that’s how we won games. And I feel like we just gotta keep doing communication, playing hard on defense, playing physical, and helping each other out.”
Cooper Flagg and Kyrie Irving combined for 22 points on 9-of-23 shooting, with 7 assists and 3 turnovers.
“So, like, the communication gotta be a little bit better between every one of us,” Risacher said. “We talked about it in the locker room, and that’s why it’s great about this team. We can talk to each other with no filter. Nobody is mad or anything.”
“We just got good communication, and I felt like we should have done a better job earlier in the game,” Risacher continued.
Dallas committed 19 turnovers, and Minnesota scored 25 points off them. Walter Clayton Jr. had 5 of the turnovers, including two backcourt violations in the fourth quarter.
“We just, we weren’t very crisp,” May said.
Dallas continues the trip Saturday against the Cleveland Cavaliers, with tip-off at 6:30 p.m. CT, and visits the Boston Celtics on Sunday at 5 p.m. CT.
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