DALLAS – Timberwolves coach Chris Finch is about as even-keeled an NBA coach as they come, and he wanted the Wolves to reflect that same demeanor headed into Monday's showdown with the Mavericks, who held a 1.5-game lead on the Wolves for the fifth seed in the Western Conference entering the night.
But even Finch acknowledged there was a little extra on the line Monday night.
"These games, when you're fighting with these teams, they're worth double in a lot of ways," Finch said.
The Wolves went for double, and came up with nothing in a 110-108 loss to Dallas.
They held a fourth-quarter lead 103-100 with 3 minutes, 23 seconds to play, only for Dallas to storm back with a 7-0 run and take what was a winnable game for the Wolves.
The Wolves did a commendable job keeping Luka Doncic from torching them in the point column of the box score – he had just 15 on 5-for-17 with eight turnovers. But Doncic was able to to affect the game in other ways, namely by setting up his teammates with 10 assists. Dwight Powell was a beneficiary of the Wolves' inability to contain the ball as he went 8-for-8 for 22 points. Then in the final minutes, Doncic set up Dorian Finney-Smith and then Reggie Bullock for key threes out of the right corner to seal Dallas' win.
The Wolves had a chance to tie down 110-107 when Bullock fouled Patrick Beverley as Beverley tried to shoot a three with 6.5 seconds remaining. But officials ruled Beverley was fouled on the floor. Beverley missed both free throws, the second intentionally, and got the rebound on the second miss and was fouled. Dallas successfully challenged the foul call and there was a jump ball at center court with 5.4 seconds left. Doncic fouled Beverley on the tip. Beverley hit the first, missed the second on purpose, but the Wolves never corralled the rebound and the clock ran out.
Karl-Anthony Towns had 22 for the Wolves. Anthony Edwards had 19
After going 4-for-18 in his previous visit to Dallas, D'Angelo Russell hit four of his first six shots, including two threes to open the night after a 15-minute delay due to a leaky roof. Russell's shotmaking helped alleviate some of the early attention Dallas gave to Towns, who had six in the first as the Wolves led 29-23.
The Wolves forced Doncic into six turnovers before halftime, but Dallas' supporting case made up for his early struggles.
The Wolves opened the second with an all-bench unit and the lead disappeared as Spencer Dinwiddie scored 12 first-half points against a porous Wolves defense. Powell toasted them at the rim. As the starters checked back in Dallas took its biggest lead of the half, 48-41, before Edwards and Malik Beasley hit a pair of threes to pull Minnesota back within one. The Wolves trailed 60-54 at the half and their struggles on defense rolled over to the start of the third, as Dallas scored the first eight points of the quarter and Minnesota missed its first six shots before Finch called time.
They would get back on track, with Edwards waking up for 10 third-quarter points. Edwards was wincing at the end of the quarter, however, and was grabbing his left hip as he went back to the bench with the Wolves trailing 86-81 entering the fourth. He came back in three minutes into the fourth.
The Wolves' second unit saw the Mavericks lead slip into double digits, 93-83 as Dinwiddie again did damage. The Wolves couldn't get within striking until later in the quarter when all the hustle Patrick Beverley had put on the floor paid off with a steal of Doncic and a three at the other end to tie the score 99-99 with 4:36 to play. The Wolves took their first lead since the second quarter on a Malik Beasley dunk 101-100, but couldn't hold it from there.
