Wolves Fall To Mavericks

Wolves Postgame Audio
Kevin McHale

Mike Miller

The Wolves were...
A) Undersized
B) Undermanned
C) All of the above

Unfortunately for Minnesota the answer is C, on a night when the Mavericks scored with relative ease on their way to a 108-88 victory on Tuesday night at the Target Center.

"Well, they started off shooting the ball pretty well, got inside baskets," head coach Kevin McHale said. "We were never able to contain them defensively. Their guards were driving in and Jason Kidd was making some nice plays. We had a couple breakdowns, but they really took advantage of it."

For the second consecutive game, Craig Smith and Randy Foye could not suit up due to injuries. Smith is battling a sore calf muscle while Foye hasnt fully recovered from a bruised hip.

From the opening tip, Dallas controlled the pace of the game and used its size advantage from a variety of offensive options on the floor. The 6'9 Ryan Gomes had the unenviable task of defending the seven-foot Dirk Nowitzki at the power forward position. Nowitzki scored 23 points on 11-for-19 shooting from the post and the outside without much defensive pressure.

The Mavericks built a 26-point lead and never looked back as Jason Terry jumped off the bench to contribute 21 points. Terry joined the rest of the Dallas squad with an excellent shooting night; the team finished 55.4 percent from the field.

Head coach Rick Carlisle also had the luxury of welcoming back small forward Josh Howard to the lineup. Howard has missed 45 games this season with ankle injuries but he needed little time to provide an impact for the Mavericks. With eight points of his 14 points in the third quarter, Dallas gained the separation they needed to snag a much-needed victory.

Dallas is chasing the seventh spot in the Western Conference standings to avoid facing the Lakers in the first round. By improving to 44-30, the Mavericks moved within two games of the Hornets.

The Wolves fell to 21-54 by only shooting 39.8 percent from the field and were beat on the boards 46-38. On the bright side, Kevin Love led Minnesota with 23 points and 12 rebounds, good for his 25th double-double of the year to lead all rookies.

"As you'd expect, Kevin is getting a little more proficient on the offensive end. Early in the game [Erick] Dampier ran down the middle of the paint a couple times, you've got to get those guys out of there. He's still got things to work on of course, he's a young player, but he's getting a little more comfortable," McHale said.

Rodney Carney earned a spot in the starting lineup and scored 14 points and grabbed nine boards in over 39 minutes of court time.

Minnesota will have two days to work at the practice facility before hitting the road to Utah for a matchup against the Jazz on Friday night.