Edwards leads Timberwolves past flustered Mavericks 116-106
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Anthony Edwards had 27 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 116-106 victory on Monday over the unglued Dallas Mavericks, who lost star Luca Doncic and coach Jason Kidd to successive ejections late in the third quarter.
Naz Reid pitched in 27 points and 13 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who kept up their energy from a franchise-record 150-point performance to beat Chicago a night earlier, despite the absence of standout big men Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns and three key reserves.
Doncic had a season-low 19 points — 14 below his average — on 5-for-17 shooting to match his season-worst percentage (29.4). The triple-double machine and league's second-leading scorer was whistled for consecutive technicals after Randy Bullock was called for a foul on Edwards.
Doncic, who played on a strained right quadriceps that kept him out of the 100-99 overtime loss at Cleveland on Saturday, looked legitimately confused by the punishment and had to be pointed toward the tunnel to exit the court.
Then Kidd lost it and received the same fate. He had to be restrained by an assistant as he went after referee Nick Buchert with some animated feedback.
Spencer Dinwiddie had 20 points and seven assists, and Christian Wood chipped in 15 points and 13 rebounds for the Mavericks, who stay in town for a rematch against the Wolves on Wednesday.
The Wolves won their third straight game.
The Mavericks played without four of their top nine scorers: Tim Hardaway Jr. (illness), Josh Green (sprained right elbow), Maxi Kleber (torn right hamstring) and Dwight Powell (bruised left thigh). Kidd put Wood in the same starting lineup as Doncic for the first time since he arrived in a trade this summer with Houston.
The Wolves were down five of their top 11 scorers themselves. Gobert (sprained left ankle) was sidelined for the third straight game and Kyle Anderson (back spasms) was a new scratch, joining Towns (strained right calf) and backups Taurean Prince (right shoulder subluxation) and Jordan McLaughlin (strained left calf) on longer-term absences.
Edwards has begun to find his spark, coincidentally or not without the big men on the court.
He had 37 points on 13-for-25 shooting with seven rebounds and a career-high 11 assists on Sunday against the Bulls. Facing the Mavericks on a quiet night by backcourt mate D'Angelo Russell, Edwards was the catalyst on both ends of the court. He went hard to the rim and was rewarded with a 10-for-11 effort from the free-throw line.
Wood had trouble guarding Reid in the paint, too. The Mavericks were outscored 36-14 in the second quarter, with Doncic supplying half of those points. Everyone else combined to shoot 1 for 10 from 3-point range in the period, and back-to-back 3s by Jaden McDaniels and Edwards closed the half for the Timberwolves on a 21-5 run. They built their lead as big as 21 points before the Mavericks really melted down.
TIP-INS
Mavericks: Doncic had six rebounds and seven assists in 28 minutes. ... Davis Bertans went 6 for 9 from 3-point range for 18 points off the bench.
Timberwolves: Edwards, who's not yet halfway through his third season, passed Anthony Peeler for third place on the franchise's all-time list for made 3-pointers (466).
UP NEXT
After the rematch on Wednesday, Dallas goes to Houston for a game on Friday and Minnesota travels to play Boston on Friday. The only meeting between the Mavericks and Timberwolves in Dallas this season is on Feb. 13.