Ellis, Mavs Ease Past Road-Weary Wolves, 131-117
DALLAS (AP) — Monta Ellis scored a season-high 30 points and the Dallas Mavericks beat Minnesota 131-117 Saturday night, handing the road-weary Timberwolves their fifth straight loss to finish a six-game trek that included a stop in Mexico City.
Dirk Nowitzki was another of eight players in double figures with 15 as Dallas had a season high in points, two nights after setting a club record with a 53-point win over Philadelphia.
The Timberwolves finished a two-week trip covering more than 5,600 air miles on a back-to-back that started with a franchise-worst, 48-point loss in New Orleans.
Kevin Martin scored a season-high 34 points for Minnesota, which gets three days off before starting a four-game homestand.
The Timberwolves were also playing their second straight game without starters Ricky Rubio and Thaddeus Young. Rubio is out indefinitely with a sprained left ankle, and Young is away from the team after his mother died.
Tyson Chandler had his fourth double-double in the past five games with 12 points and 16 rebounds.
Ellis had the first 30-point game of the season for the Mavericks. The other double-figure scorers were J.J. Barea (14), Brandan Wright (13), Chandler Parsons (12), Al-Farouq Aminu (10) and Richard Jefferson (10).
Chandler also had three blocks, including one on a drive by Gorgui Dieng that he swatted from the rim all the way to the row behind the Dallas bench. Assistant coach and former player Darrell Armstrong made the catch.
Martin kept the game respectable for Minnesota, going 12 of 17 from the field. Shabazz Muhammad made six of seven from the field and scored 18 as the Timberwolves shot 50 percent for the first time this season.
The Mavericks steadily pulled away in the second quarter, turning a six-point lead into a 21-point edge when Wright followed a miss by Ellis with a dunk for a 56-35 lead. Dallas led by as many as 26 in the second half.
The Timberwolves gave up more than 100 points for the second night in a row and allowed a road opponent to shoot better than 50 percent for the fifth time in six games. That doesn't include the visit to Mexico City, which was technically a home game.
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TIP-INS
Timberwolves: Minnesota's five-game losing streak is a game longer than the worst skid from 2013-14. ... The Timberwolves were away from home for 17 days on a seven-game trip from March 21-April 7, 1998. That trip started with a loss in Dallas but ended with a 4-3 record.
Mavericks: G Raymond Felton still hasn't officially returned from a right ankle sprain sustained in the preseason. His four-game suspension for his conviction on a gun charge in New York won't start until he's activated for a game. He said Friday he was getting close. ... Barea was playing his first game against the team he left the Mavericks for as a free agent in 2011 after Dallas won the franchise's only championship.
UP NEXT
Timberwolves: Host New York on Wednesday.
Mavericks: Visit Charlotte on Monday.
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