Wolves Drop Home Game To Mavericks

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Jonah Ballow
Wolves Editor/Writer
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Kurt Rambis DOWNLOAD MP3 Nathan Jawai DOWNLOAD MP3 Jonny Flynn DOWNLOAD MP3

Two stars out but plenty of intrigue on Friday night at the Target Center. The game reached a fever pitch in the third quarter before Dallas settled down to defeat Minnesota 89-77.

"I was pleased with the way our guys played for some chunks of the ball game, but with this team being young and inexperienced, they don't know how to dig deep when teams are making their runs, we don't know how to really execute our offense and work for high-quality shots," head coach Kurt Rambis said.

At the 7:48 mark of the third period, Dirk Nowitzki refused to give the ball up following a made basket for the Mavericks. Ryan Hollins attempted to wrestle the ball away from Nowitzki and the two players exchanged words along with a couple of shoves. The referee crew decided to call a double technical as the Wolves faced a 51-40 deficit.

Not to be outdone, Rambis chirped at the refs despite being held back from Hollins. Rambis was then whistled for a technical to add fuel to the fire.

The drama continued three minutes later with Drew Gooden and Hollins colliding on a Minnesota possession. Gooden did not make a clean break from Hollins after a foul in the paint, which led to Hollins swinging his elbow in frustration. Players from both teams were separated and Hollins was tossed from the game with his second technical of the contest.

"I'm pleased that attitude is starting to come out in our guys, and its something they're going to have to continue to build upon," Rambis said.

Holllins prompted the crowd to rise to their feet in search of the Wolves first victory in nine games. On the other side, Dallas was calm and began to execute the offense through Nowitzki. The Mavericks have been through these types of wars in playoff matchups against Phoenix and San Antonio.

Nowitzki rattled off 15 third quarter points while leading Dallas to a 12-3 run after Hollins was sent to the locker room for the evening. The floppy-haired All-Star even barked at the hometown crowd, assuring no friendships were made at the Target Center.

The Wolves defense was stout in the first half, especially the admirable effort from Ryan Gomes. Minnesota's small forward held Nowitzki to five points before he finished with 20 to lead all scorers.

"I thought Ryan did a good job in a lot of spots out there. For the most part, we did a good job defending him, and I was pleased considering who he is as a ball player and where we're at as a defensive team," Rambis said.

There was a clear improvement from the defensive side of the floor as Corey Brewer and Jonny Flynn combined for seven steals. Brewer entered the game ranked 10th in the league with 2.11 steals per game.

Al Jefferson missed the first of two games this week due to a death in his family. The big man left the team to attend his grandmother's funeral in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Fans can expect Big Al to make a return on Monday in time to practice for two days before a home game against Houston.

The Wolves newcomer, Nathan Jawai again showed potential in Jefferson's absence. The bruising Australian enjoyed success in the post with 10 points on 4-for-9 shooting from the field. In his first career start, Jawai received high praise from the Wolves headman.

"I actually thought he did a really good job in the ball game," Rambis said. "You know, he's still learning how to play -- what he can do with his body and his size. His teammates really like him; they enjoy watching him go to work and be aggressive."

The Wolves jump on the plane to Memphis for a road contest against the Grizzlies on Saturday night.

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