Andrew Wiggins went into the All-Star Break on a hot streak and he continued that on Friday night in Minnesota’s 97-84 win over the Dallas Mavericks at the Target Center.
Wiggins finished with 27 points, seven rebounds and three assists while shooting 11-for-21 from the field and 4-for-5 from the free-throw line.
The win was a significant one for the Wolves, as they stay alive in the playoff hunt. The Wolves move to 23-35 overall, just 2.5 games back from the eighth seed in the West. And equally as important, the Wolves drop the Mavericks to 22-35, three games back from the eighth seed.
Wolves center Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 26 points and a game-high 18 rebounds, while Ricky Rubio added 13 points, 14 assists and five rebounds. Tyus Jones led the second unit with 11 points.
“He could (get more minutes), I mean a lot of it was the matchups and I’m trying to find ways to get him onto the floor, so they play a lot of two point guard lineups, so I thought it was a good opportunity for that and I thought he played well. Very well,” Wolves coach Tom Thibodeau said after the game.
Seth Curry led the Mavericks with 31 points, nine coming from the 3-point line. Harrison Barnes added 20. The Wolves held the Mavericks to just 24.2 percent from the 3-point line.
Highlight of the Game
With 9:13 left in the second quarter, Wolves wing Shabazz Muhammad (who was rocking a new headband), threw down a monster dunk to give the Wolves a 33-24 lead.
Muhammad finished with five points off the bench.
The Numbers Game
- Towns recorded his 43rd double-double of the season, which ranks third in the NBA behind Russell Westbrook and James Harden.
- Jones’s 11 points were just one point shy of his career high which came on Nov. 8 at Brooklyn.
- In what could be his last game at the Target Center, future Hall of Fame Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki finished with just eight points and shot 0-for-4 from the 3-point line.
Player of the Game
As stated above, Wiggins kept up his hot streak. Wiggins has eclipsed 20 or more points in 14 consecutive games and he’s gone above 27 points in his last seven games.
"Andrew always has that ability. He does so much for us on the court," Towns said. "It’s always great to see. I wanted him to go for 40 (points), but he played amazing."
Up Next
The Wolves are right back at it Saturday night against the Rockets in Houston. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. on Fox Sports North and WCCO 830 AM.