Inside Report: Timberwolves-Mavericks preview — Mavs host Love-less Wolves, bid for 50th W before long road trip

Earl K. Sneed previews the Mavericks' Thursday night matchup with the Timberwolves, who will be without All-Star forward Kevin Love. The Mavs will look to sweep the season series and collect their 50th win before heading out on their longest road trip of the year.

DALLAS — There will be a rather big component missing in Thursday night’s matchup between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Dallas Mavericks. Big as in 6-foot-10, 260-pound Timberwolves forward Kevin Love, who did not make the trip to Dallas as the two teams collide at the American Airlines Center.

That figures to only help the Mavericks (49-21) as they bid for their 11th straight 50-win season.

The NBA’s leading rebounder and a first-time All-Star played just 14 minutes in a 127-95 blowout home loss to Sacramento Sunday night, exiting the game with a strained left groin. He went scoreless and claimed just three rebounds on the night, well short of his season averages of 20.3 points and 15.4 rebounds.

Love set a post-merger record for consecutive double-doubles with 53 earlier in the month. He equaled Moses Malone’s old mark of 51 straight double-doubles in a 108-105 defeat to the Mavericks on March 7, finishing with 23 points and 17 boards albeit in a loss.

Still, Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle says that his players must not take the Minnesota team lightly even without Love in the lineup, knowing that the Timberwolves (17-54) will look to use a collective effort to make up for the loss of the former UCLA standout’s activity around the rim.

“[Love] has become a high-impact player this year. And I don’t know his situation, but if he doesn’t play they’ll have another high-energy guy running around … and then they’ll be hard to guard because they’ll be smaller,” Carlisle said. “So, we’ll see, but again, it’s not about who plays, it’s about how we play.”

The Mavericks will be looking to move to 3-0 against the Wolves while concluding a three-game homestand, hoping for a much-needed win before embarking on a 10-day, six-game road trip. And with just 12 games remaining in the regular season and the Mavs fighting for playoff seeding, Carlisle admits that Thursday’s game has plenty of significance.

“The games are all important…We’ve got a very difficult schedule the last two weeks. The home game Thursday is important and then we go on the longest trip in several years. So, it will be a great opportunity to see where we are,” Carlisle said.

With that said, the Mavericks will try to reproduce the events from Saturday night, after surrendering a season-low points total to an opponent en route to their largest margin of victory of the year, cruising to a 101-73 win over Golden State and clinching an 11th straight playoff berth in the process. Fortunately for the Mavericks, four-time All-Star Shawn Marion expects to play with a brace on his sprained right wrist, after missing a game due to the injury.

“I’ll be alright,” Marion said. “I’m gonna suit up and get through it this week and I’ll be fine.”

“We’re working on being healthier and certainly we’re on track,” Carlisle added. “But there’s a lot of work that needs to be done … you never assume anything. The last time we played in Minnesota, the next morning Peja [Stojakovic] woke up and his neck was hurting. So, knock on wood and hope things go well with Mother Nature. And again, it’s an important game [Thursday night], then we get on a plane on Friday and we’re off into the wild blue yonder.”

Note: The Timberwolves-Mavericks matchup will tip off at 7:30 p.m. CT, airing locally on Fox Sports Southwest. Great seats are still available and tickets can be purchased by visiting the American Airlines Center box office, logging on to Mavs.com or by calling 214-747-MAVS (6287).

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Fans can visit Mavs.com or call 214.747.MAVS for more information and a complete listing of regular-season home games.