{"id":53971,"date":"2025-11-18T04:13:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-18T04:13:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/53971\/"},"modified":"2025-11-18T04:13:09","modified_gmt":"2025-11-18T04:13:09","slug":"shorthanded-mavericks-pummeled-by-timberwolves-as-dallas-offensive-struggles-persist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/53971\/","title":{"rendered":"Shorthanded Mavericks pummeled by Timberwolves as Dallas\u2019 offensive struggles persist"},"content":{"rendered":"

MINNEAPOLIS \u2014 It was apparent by halftime that the Dallas Mavericks<\/a> were at a disadvantage in Monday\u2019s quick turnaround game without three of their best big men in the lineup.<\/p>\n

The Mavericks dug themselves into a double-digit deficit without their frontcourt trio of Anthony Davis, Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II and never recovered. That severe lack of size was just the beginning of a 120-96 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center.<\/p>\n

The Mavericks dropped to 4-11 overall and 1-8 against Western Conference opponents. The Wolves improved to 9-5. Dallas remains winless against opponents with records of .500 or better.<\/p>\n

Dallas\u2019 shorthanded roster had a right to be fatigued coming off its second consecutive overtime game with Sunday\u2019s win over the Portland Trail Blazers<\/a>. That victory followed a double-overtime loss to the LA Clippers on Friday<\/a>. However, it wasn\u2019t an excuse for the lack of offensive cohesion, which has been a pressing issue all season.<\/p>\n

Mavericks<\/p>\n

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Two-way center Moussa Cisse earned his first career start, but it wasn\u2019t enough to offset the rebounding the Mavericks could\u2019ve had if Gafford and Lively were available. Both players rested Monday for management of their respective ankle and knee injuries. The Mavericks were pummeled on the boards 60-42. Cisse had five points and nine rebounds in 23 minutes.<\/p>\n

Even worse, the Mavericks had another abysmal night on the offensive end. They turned the ball over 19 times, leading to 24 points for the Wolves. Dallas finished with a season-low 12 assists, and no player reached over three helpers.<\/p>\n

Jaden Hardy led the Mavericks off the bench with 17 points on 4 of 5 from 3-point range. It was his first game after not playing on Sunday and Friday. Brandon Williams led the starters with 15 points and five rebounds. Cooper Flagg<\/a> added 15 points and two assists. PJ Washington had 13 points and seven rebounds. No other Mavericks player reached double figures. D\u2019Angelo Russell scored eight points off the bench against his former team, but struggled with a 4 of 10 shooting night.<\/p>\n

All five starters reached double-digits for Minnesota, none more important than backup big man Naz Reid. The stretch forward led the Wolves with 22 points and 12 rebounds, which made him the third player in the NBA to record three double-doubles off the bench. Reid brought the home crowd to its feet in the waning seconds of the third quarter when he drilled a stepback 3-pointer over Klay Thompson to give the Wolves a 30-point lead.<\/p>\n

Jaden McDaniels added 15 points and five rebounds. Rudy Gobert feasted on the interior with 15 points, nine rebounds and four assists.<\/p>\n

Wolves superstar Anthony Edwards is typically the main priority for every team\u2019s scouting report, but he was tentative in the first half and didn\u2019t score until he knocked down a pair of free throws with 2 minutes and 49 seconds left in the second quarter. He totaled 13 points, four rebounds and three assists.<\/p>\n

Monday\u2019s game was the first time the Mavericks played without Davis, Lively or Gafford since March 25. For comparison, that game resulted in a 128-113 loss to the New York Knicks, who will visit American Airlines Center on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

X\/Twitter: @MikeACurtis2<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Dallas<\/a>Mavericks centers Daniel Gafford, Dereck Lively out vs. Minnesota Timberwolves<\/a><\/p>\n

The Mavericks\u2019 top two centers were ruled out because of injury management for their respective ailments. <\/p>\n

\"Memphis<\/a>Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (calf) to miss Saturday matchup vs. Mavericks in Dallas<\/a><\/p>\n

The Grizzlies\u00a0announced Monday the two-time All-Star will miss at least two weeks with a strained right calf.<\/p>\n

Find more Mavericks coverage from The Dallas Morning News here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MINNEAPOLIS \u2014 It was apparent by halftime that the Dallas Mavericks were at a disadvantage in Monday\u2019s quick…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":53972,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[4643,4642,102,104,2582,103,4281,3080,154],"class_list":{"0":"post-53971","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas","8":"tag-anthony-davis","9":"tag-cooper-flagg","10":"tag-dallas","11":"tag-dallas-headlines","12":"tag-dallas-mavericks","13":"tag-dallas-news","14":"tag-mavericks","15":"tag-nba","16":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53971","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53971"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53971\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53972"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53971"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53971"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53971"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}