Mitchell HansenWeb Editorial AssociateTwitter
Karl-Anthony Towns led the way Monday night at Target Center as the Minnesota Timberwolves defeated the Dallas Mavericks 101-92.
Towns finished with a game-best 34 points, 11 rebounds and four assists. Of his 34 points, 20 of them came in the first quarter.
“We got contributions from a lot of people tonight. The way Karl started the game, playing from a lead was a big plus for us,” Wolves head coach Tom Thibodeau said after the game. “I thought we got some timely play from our bench as well.”
Along with Towns, Ricky Rubio had 13 points, 15 assists, five rebounds and five steals, Andrew Wiggins finished with 13 points, Gorgui Dieng had 12 points and five rebounds for Minnesota. Zach LaVine, who left the game in the second half with a left hip contusion, finished with five points, six rebounds and five assists.
The Wolves got a big lift from their bench in the game. Shabazz Muhammad had 11 points. Tyus Jones added seven points, Nemanja Bjelica had three points, five rebounds and two assists and Kris Dunn had three points and three assists to give Minnesota 24 points from its bench.
“You got to take advantage of your opportunity. It’s next guy up,” Jones said postgame. “When coach calls, you have to be ready to go in and pick up where Zach left off. I just try to do anything I can to help the team and pull out a W tonight. . . You have to stay ready, stay prepared, and that’s what I’ve been doing.”
The Wolves shot 40-of-71 (56.3 percent) from the field in the game and finished 6-for-16 (37.5 percent) from behind the arc.
Harrison Barnes and Dirk Nowitzki led the way for Dallas in the game. Barnes had a team-high 30 points, while Nowitzki had 26 points, five rebounds and four assists. Deron Williams added 11 points and seven assists and Seth Curry had eight points coming off the bench.
“They are not easy to guard. They put Nowitzki at the five and Barnes at the four, then you have to match up with their size. . . They had multiple point guards on the floor and I thought our guards did a good job,” Thibodeau said.
The Mavericks shot 36-of-78 (46.2 percent) from the field, including 13-for-28 (46.4 percent) from three.
Minnesota improves to 12-26 overall, while Dallas falls to 11-27 on the season.
Highlight Of The Game
With 5:04 left in the first quarter, a Rubio-led fast break ended in a slam from Towns to put the Wolves ahead of the Mavericks 21-13.
The Numbers Game
- LaVine finished 1-for-4 from three in the game to record a total of 286 threes in his career, passing Troy Hudson (285) for fifth on the Wolves’ all-time three list. LaVine trails Isaiah Rider (295), Wally Szczerbiak (343), Kevin Love (440) and Anthony Peeler (465).
- The 15 assists for Rubio his most in a game since March 14, 2016 against the Phoenix Suns when he had 17.
- The Wolves out-rebounded the Mavericks 42-25 and held a 17-0 advantage on fast break points.
Player Of The Game
Monday night’s Wolves Player of the Game is Karl-Anthony Towns.
Towns, who has now scored 20 or more points in the opening quarter twice this season, shot 15-for-19 from the field, including 2-for-3 from three and 2-for-2 from the free throw line.
The second-year big man recorded his eighth straight double-double and fifth 30-plus point game of the season.
Up Next
The Wolves will host the Houston Rockets at 7 p.m. Wednesday night at Target Center in the third game of a four-game homestand. The game will be aired on Fox Sports North and 830 WCCO.