Recap: Mavericks 104 at Timberwolves 97

Earl K. Sneed reports from Minneapolis and recaps the Dallas Mavericks' Friday night win over the Timberwolves as Dirk Nowitzki outdueled fellow All-Star forward Kevin Love.

MINNEAPOLIS — The Dallas Mavericks entered the Target Center Friday night hoping the third time was a charm. They also hoped to have their floor leader back in action after being without him for six games.

After losing twice to the Minnesota Timberwolves by double digits in January, the defending champion Mavericks looked to exact some revenge on the road. Meanwhile, before the game point guard Jason Kidd tested out the strained right calf that had kept him sidelined since the early minutes of a 116-101 home win over Utah back on Jan. 27. And with the Mavericks looking to build off Wednesday night’s 105-95 victory in Denver to end a three-game losing streak, the time seemed perfect for Kidd to return to the hardwood.

Kidd would in fact return to action, joining swingman Vince Carter, forwards Shawn Marion and Dirk Nowitzki and center Brendan Haywood in the starting lineup. But it would be Nowitzki that led the Mavericks (16-11) to a second straight victory, scoring a season-high 33 points in a 104-97 win after being named an All-Star for an 11th straight time the night prior.

“Dirk played great at both ends and he gave us a presence around the basket with his length,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said of his go-to player’s big night. “He was getting the ball in the basket and he just continues to get better. ... It’s great to have [Kidd] back and this is an important win for us.”

The Timberwolves (13-14) took the court wearing their ABA throwback Muskies uniforms while the Mavs sported their alternative navy jerseys. Meanwhile, with Kidd back in the lineup, the Mavs began the game on a 20-6 run as Nowitzki asserted himself. And getting an even contribution from his starters and reserves, Carlisle watched as his team headed into the second stanza with a 29-16 advantage.

“Good starts are important in this league, ’cause the more you can play from in front it always helps, but they never guarantee anything. So, we knew they were gonna make runs,” Carlisle said.

After their hot start, the Mavs tried to keep it going in the second period despite a feisty Wolves team chipping away to get back in the game. With the inside duo of All-Star forward Kevin Love and Nikola Pekovic, the Wolves would indeed trim their deficit to single digits while Michael Beasley and ex-Maverick J.J. Barea gave Minnesota a lift off the bench. But once a 15-point lead was trimmed to as little as five, the Mavs also turned to their bench as Delonte West and Jason Terry regained control of the game. Nowitzki’s long-range shooting and two thunderous dunks by backup big man Brandan Wright then boosted the Mavs to a 56-45 edge at the halftime break.

Despite being outrebounded in the half, 21-18, the Mavs capitalized off the Wolves’ 14 turnovers by scoring 18 points at the other end. The visiting Dallas squad also outshot the home team through two quarters, 47.7 percent to 38.5 percent. While Love led all scorers at the midway mark with 17 points on just 4-of-10 from the field, Nowitzki was much more efficient with 16 first-half points on 5-of-7 shooting and 3-of-4 from behind the 3-point arc.

“I was able to knock a few threes in and then just kind of go from there,” Nowitzki said. “Usually when you make the first couple of shots your confidence goes up and I just kept shooting all night. I had a couple of heat checks that I probably shouldn’t have shot and missed three free throws that were brutal. Other than that, I was in a groove and the guys were finding me.”

The second half would open with back-to-back scores by Love to get the Wolves off to a quick start in the third. But Nowitzki would answer as he did in the first half with consecutive scores of his own in the midst of an 11-0 Dallas run before going back in front by as much as 17. But Love and rookie point guard Ricky Rubio pushed their team back into the game, before fellow first-year stud Derrick Williams’ tip-dunk cut the Dallas lead to 78-73 entering the fourth.

Carlisle found himself burning a timeout early in the fourth after Pekovic scored inside to cut the Dallas edge to just three with 10:32 remaining. After the break in action, however, Kidd immediately extended the lead to six with a 3-pointer.

“Well, I didn’t have to think about it because I was on the (exercise) bike and we had scheduled that my minutes would be no more than 25. … I got going in the fourth quarter with my bike ride to St. Paul and someone came over and said, ‘Coach wants you.’ So, I had to cut that bike ride short. I came in and JET [Terry] found me for a three, so it was just whatever I could do to help my team.”

“When they cut it to three we put [Kidd] back in the game and we got it back up to 13 or 14,” Carlisle added. “He came right in the game and immediately hit a three and he got us going.”

Then Terry began to take control, raining timely scores to put the Mavericks comfortably in front by 10, 87-77, with 8:16 still on the clock. After scoring 28 points through three quarters, Nowitzki rejoined the scoring and surpassed his season-high scoring output as the lead once again ballooned. The 7-footer and Kidd then put the finishing touches on the win while taking over the offensive duties, pulling away down the stretch with superior shooting from the outside. And after an 18-5 run to build a safe separation on the scoreboard, the Mavs held on down the stretch for the victory.

Behind Nowitzki’s 11-of-19 shooting, the Mavericks avoided the season series sweep with four players in double figures as Terry added 16 points, Carter pitched in 12 and West registered 10 in the scoring column. The Mavericks also outshot the Wolves on the night, 43.3 percent to 40.5 percent, despite a 47-38 rebounding disadvantage. Dallas hit 9-of-21 from behind the 3-point line as well compared to Minnesota’s 6-of-23 shooting from deep.

Playing just over 27 minutes in his return, Kidd finished just shy of a double-double with eight points on 2-of-3 from behind the arc while dishing out a game-high 10 assists. But with timing an issue after missing six games, Kidd also committed eight turnovers.

“It was ‘give-away-a-ball night’ for the fans,” Kidd joked. “It was ‘Fan Appreciation Night.’ It was a combination of a lot of stuff, [teammates] haven’t seen me nor have I seen them. It will take a game and we got that out the way.”

“He was throwing the ball all over the gym a little bit. I think he was tired,” Nowitzki joked. “But it’s good to see him back — the leadership he brings, his defense and his basketball IQ is probably the highest I’ve ever played with.”

Love led four Wolves in double figures with 32 points on 9-of-18 shooting to go with 12 rebounds while Beasley added 20 points on 8-of-11 from the field off the bench. Meanwhile, the Mavericks converted 28 Minnesota turnovers into 30 points, grabbing a season-high 16 steals led by Carter’s five.

The Mavs will now have very little time to celebrate the win, returning to Dallas to host the Portland Trail Blazers at the American Airlines Center Saturday night. The two teams haven’t seen each other since Dallas beat the Blazers in six games of their first-round playoff series en route to last year’s championship. That game will air locally on Fox Sports Southwest at 7:30 p.m. CT. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling (214) 747-MAVS.

“We’ve got a lot of good teams coming up, a lot of big games starting with another one tomorrow at home against a very good Portland team. So, hopefully we can keep the troops going and make a run going into the All-Star break,” Nowitzki said while looking ahead.

Single-game tickets are on sale and available at the American Airlines Center North Box Office, online at mavs.com, via phone by calling 214-747-MAVS or 1-800-4NBA-TIX and all Ticketmaster outlets (Fiesta Grocery Stores, Wal-Mart, Simon Mall in Garland and the Shops at Willow Bend in Plano).

Dr. Pepper Family Nights are here! Plans include four Mavs tickets and four McDonald’s extra value meals, starting at $49. Visit mavs.com or call 214-747-MAVS for a schedule of games and to purchase tickets.