Mavs Too Much For Wolves

On Rookie Day at Target Center, Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavericks were too much for Minnesota, beating the Wolves 101-78 for Dallas’ ninth win in 11 games.

In the NBA, you can often look at the box score and figure out why a team won or lost, and Sunday’s game was no different.

Indeed, Wolves stat guru Paul Swanson keeps careful track of the statistics, marking every type of number that can be logged in a basketball game … Against Dallas, we took a look at the halftime and final box scores to see if the numbers told the tale yet again:

Minnesota is 4-4 when scoring 100+ points:
Halftime: 58-35 was Dallas’ halftime lead. The Mavs thoroughly dominated Minnesota from the opening tip, and were well on their way to 100 points. But the Wolves, shooting only 39.4 percent (13-of-33), would have had to catch lightning in a bottle to reach the 100-point mark.
Final: N/A.

0-24 when scoring less than 100
Halftime: Yup. 35 points isn’t where you want to start here.
Final: Make that 0-25. Could the Wolves win a game when not scoring 100 points? Sure, but it hasn’t happened yet. Just 78 today.

3-7 when shooting 45%+
Halftime: Craig Smith made 3-of-4 shots in the first half, but no one else besides Sebastian Telfair (2-of-4) is even at 50 percent. Minnesota’s won only once when not hitting that 45 percent mark, and Sunday looks to be another example.
Final: Minnesota shot just 40.9 percent for the game. The Wolves struggled with DeSagna Diop manning the middle of the lane, and in general weren’t able to penetrate the Dallas D. As a result, Minnesota took a lot of jump shots … Not the Wolves’ forte. Alas, the stat is inapplicable.

1-21 when shooting less than 45%
Halftime: Someone who’s shooting over 45 percent? Dirk Nowitzki, who made 6-of-11 first-half shots, mostly on jumpers (55 percent).
Final: 1-22.

3-6 when outshooting their foe
Halftime: NA.
Final: N/A.

4-14 when outrebounding their foe or even
Halftime: Dallas held a 22-16 advantage on the glass after two quarters, including four each from Josh Howard, Nowitzki, and Juwan Howard.
Final: Dallas outrebounded Minnesota 44-36. So Dallas didn’t dominate the glass … Defensively, at least. The Mavs pulled down 15 offensive rebounds, scoring 17 second-chance points. Jefferson had three offensive rebounds, but the only other Wolves to grab an offensive board were Craig Smith (two) and Telfair (one).

1-14 when committing <16 TOs
Halftime: Minnesota was halfway there at halftime, registering eight turnovers to just two from the Mavs. No player had more than one turnover, oddly enough.
Final: They got there again, with 16 TOs. That’ 1-15 now. Obviously, the Wolves can’t expect to win if they don’t take care of the ball. Maybe a team like Phoenix can overcome high-turnover stats, but not the young Wolves.

4-8 when leading or tied after three quarters
Halftime: We’ll have to check back in after three for this one … How’s 83-58 Mavs? This won’t be a game Minnesota blows in the final quarter.
Final: N/A.

1-15 in games decided by 10+ points
Halftime: Down by 23, it’s not looking like this will be an issue either.
Final: 1-16.

2-16 when allowing 100+ points
Halftime: If Dallas continues its scoring pace, they’ll have 116 points, making Minnesota 2-17 when allowing 100. Final: 2-17. Dallas got 30 points from Nowitzki and 22 from Josh Howard to lead the way towards their 100+.

2-12 when allowing less than 100
Halftime: This statistic hasn’t mattered. The Wolves have won two high-scoring games, and won two low-scoring games. Looks like they’ll score low, and the Mavs high in this case.
Final: N/A.

3-19 when allowing 45%+
Halftime: Looking like 3-20.
Final: 3-20. Dallas shot 46.3 percent for the game.

1-9 when allowing less than 45%
Halftime: Possible if the Mavs cool off considerably.
Final: NA. Weird stat here though, as three of Minnesota’s wins have come against teams shooting better than 45 percent.

1-22 when being outshot
Halftime: This is looking like 1-23, with Dallas shooting the ball much better than Minnesota, partly because the Mavs are getting better looks, and partly because they’re a better shooting team. Dallas is 6th, and Minnesota 26th in field-goal percentage in the NBA.
Final: 1-23.

0-14 when being outrebounded
Halftime: Dallas held a 22-16 lead on the glass. Final: 0-15. 44-36 for the game. The Wolves clearly must handle the backboards to have a chance to win.

3-14 when committing 16+ TOs
Halftime: The Wolves had eight turnovers at halftime and 11 heading into the fourth. Jaric and Telfair had two each.
Final: 3-15.

0-20 when trailing after three quarters
Halftime: Minnesota trailed by 25 heading in the fourth quarter. Final: 0-21.

3-13 in games decided by <10 points
Halftime: Nope. Final: N/A.

Surely, the numbers don’t lie.