Anthony Edwards scored 26 points as the Minnesota Timberwolves defeated the Dallas Mavericks 105-99 on Wednesday. The Mavericks played the second half without their star player Luka Doncic, who suffered a left calf strain late in the second quarter.
Doncic got injured with 2:31 left in the second quarter and went straight to the locker room. At that point, he had 14 points in 16 minutes, and Dallas was trailing 51-38.
In the third quarter, the Timberwolves built a 28-point lead before the Mavericks started a comeback led by Kyrie Irving in the final period. Dallas narrowed the gap to 101-99 on Klay Thompson’s 3-pointer with 1:05 left.
Thompson finished with 12 points, making four 3-pointers and surpassing Reggie Miller for fifth on the NBA’s all-time career 3-pointers list with 2,562. Irving scored 15 of his 39 points in the fourth quarter, but he missed a 3-pointer that could have given Dallas the lead with 37 seconds left.
Edwards then scored on the next possession to give the Timberwolves a four-point lead, and Dallas native Julius Randle sealed the win with two free throws.
The Timberwolves snapped a three-game losing streak, shooting 46.5 percent from the field and 14 of 32 (43.8 percent) from three-point range. Randle finished with 23 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 assists. Rudy Gobert added 14 points and 10 rebounds, Donte DiVincenzo scored 11 points off the bench, and Mike Conley had 10.
For Dallas, Quentin Grimes scored 10 points, and Dereck Lively II grabbed 10 rebounds. The Mavericks were down by two points at the end of the first quarter.
The Timberwolves closed the first half with a 12-2 run, leading 57-40 at halftime, holding Dallas without a field goal in the final 5:46 of the second quarter. Edwards, Gobert, and Randle combined for 34 points in the first half, while the Mavericks shot just 32.6 percent, including 8 of 24 (33.3 percent) from three-point range.
Minnesota led 90-68 at the end of the third quarter, but Dallas started the fourth quarter with a 10-1 run to begin their comeback.
