On January 8, Beijing time, in the 2023-24 NBA regular season, the Mavericks defeated the Timberwolves 115-108 to win three consecutive victories. Doncic and Irving combined for 69 points.
Statistics
#80000888#2018 5 assists, 3 steals and 2 steals, Hardaway 12 points and 4 rebounds, Jones 12 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists;
Timberwolves: Edwards 36 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals, Gobert 9 points and 17 rebounds, Towns 24 points and 7 rebounds, Lee Kyle 4 points, 2 rebounds and 4 assists, Reed 15 points and 9 rebounds;
Background
Before this game, the Timberwolves ranked 1st in the West with a 25-9 regular season record, and the Mavericks ranked 6th in the West with a 21-15 regular season record. This season, the two sides have faced each other twice before, with the Timberwolves winning both of them. Doncic missed the Mavericks' big win over the Trail Blazers, but it was time for Doncic to return. This season, Doncic is averaging 33.7 points, 8.3 rebounds and 9.3 assists per game.
Match replays
At the beginning of the game, Edwards hit a three-pointer and Gobert dunked, but Irving hit a series of shots in a hot hand, and Jones continued to score points through mid-to-long-range jumpers, and the Mavericks won 14-8. Just as the Mavericks were ready to further extend their lead, Towns and Edwards scored six straight points to lead the Timberwolves to 20-20. Doncic scored points one after another, and the Timberwolves were hit by Lee Kyle and Reed successively, and the situation on the court was very stalemate. At the end of the first quarter, the offensive shooting percentages of both sides dropped, and both missed shots many times. At the end of the first quarter, the Mavericks led by one point at 30-29.
At the beginning of the second quarter, Irving continued to score points through outside three-pointers and free throws in the opening stage, and the Mavericks took the lead in a wave of 11-4. But the Timberwolves quickly responded to the opponent, and Walker and Conley hit three-pointers successively to lead the team to a wave of scoring climaxes, instantly closing the deficit to 1 point. Immediately afterward, the Mavericks stabilized the situation a little bit with an outside offensive. In the following period, the shooting percentages of both sides dropped again, and it was not until the end of the quarter that they gradually regained their shooting touch. The Mavericks scored back-to-back points with free throws, counter-attacking layups and jumpers, but the Timberwolves made inside and outside shots to bite the score. At halftime, the Mavericks led by four points at 60-56.
The two sides started to attack each other in the opening stage, and when Reed and Conley hit three-pointers successively, the Timberwolves chased the score to 64-64. In the following period, the two sides alternated points through mid-to-long-range jumpers, breakthrough layups and free throws, and when Conley hit another three-pointer, the Timberwolves took a one-point lead at 73-72. Immediately afterwards, Irving carried the Mavericks' offensive banner and hit consecutive three-pointers. Then, the Timberwolves tried to instigate a new round of counterattacks and closed the score again, and when Edwards scored on a layup, the Timberwolves trailed by three points. The Mavericks responded quickly, with Doncic hitting back-to-back three-pointers and Hardaway hitting a three-pointer, and the Mavericks held the game to hold a nine-point advantage at the end of the third quarter.
In the final quarter of the competition, the Timberwolves took the lead in a wave of 10-5 in the opening stage, instantly closing the gap to 4 points. Doncic tried to lead the team to stabilize the situation, but the Timberwolves immediately hit three three-pointers in succession by Towns and Edwards and Towns immediately played 2+1, and the Timberwolves blasted a new round of scoring climax to turn the situation around and overtake the score, when Edwards scored a jumper, the Timberwolves 106-100. Powell scored 2+1 to stop the bleeding for the Mavericks, and Irving then hit consecutive three-pointers to make it 109-106. In the closing stages, Jones received a wonderful pass from Donci, and Doncic and Hardaway immediately scored free throws to seal the win. In the end, the Mavericks defeated the Timberwolves to win three in a row.
Both sides start
Mavericks: Doncic, Irving, Powell, Jones, Green;
Timberwolves: Edwards, Gobert, Towns, Conley, McDaniels;