Bah humbug!
The Dallas Mavericks fell to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Christmas Day by a score of 105-99. Kyrie Irving led the way for Dallas, pouring in 39 points. Anthony Edwards was the high-point man for Minnesota, chipping in 26 of his own.
Superstars Luka Doncic and Anthony Edwards both started the game on fire, scoring eight points a piece in the first six minutes of the first quarter. Dallas got out to a small early lead, but Minnesota responded with a 7-0 run to go up five. Kyrie Irving then started to look for his shot, the Mavericks defense tightened up, and a Quentin Grimes three gave Dallas the lead back with two minutes to go. The lead was extended to five, but Minnesota ended the period on a 7-0 run to take a 26-24 advantage into the second quarter.
Klay Thompson hit two quick threes to start the second quarter, restoring the lead for Dallas. Unfortunately, Minnesota responded by going on an extended run. The Mavericks got bitten by the turnover bug and couldn’t take advantage of the non-Edwards minutes, as the Timberwolves started to pull away. Dallas remained in the mud for much of the period, and then disaster struck; Luka Doncic sustained a leg injury, went to the locker room, and did not return in the first half. Things continued to snowball for Dallas, as a lid remained on the basket. Minnesota went into the half with a 57-40 lead.
Doncic was ruled out for the game at halftime with a left calf strain. And things did not get better in the third. Dallas continued to play poorly on both sides of the ball, letting Minnesota extend their lead to as many as 28 points. Irving scored 11 points in the frame but it didn’t matter at all. The Mavericks trailed 90-68 entering the fourth quarter.
Irving continued to cook in the fourth, opening the period on a personal 5-0 run. Dallas finally started to play with force and went on their first big run of the game, whittling the Minnesota lead down to nine with five minutes remaining. Suddenly, it looked like a Christmas miracle was in the works; the Maverick defense was sensational down the stretch, and they managed to trim the deficit down to just two with 48 seconds remaining. Irving then missed a pull-up three early in the clock, Edwards responded with a layup, and the game was over. Dallas’ furious comeback fell short and the Timberwolves escaped with a 105-99 win. Here are three observations from this one.
More life without Luka
Doncic has been hurt in one way or another since the 2024 playoffs. This year, he’s already picked up five lower-body injuries. A left calf strain is not the worst-case scenario, but Doncic will certainly miss some time going forward. Dallas has fared well without him this year, sporting a 6-2 record. Today, however, the team quit in the third after Doncic went down. Minnesota already had a big lead, and it looked like the Mavericks shrugged their shoulders and resigned themselves to a loss at the half. Dallas has a tough road trip coming up, with games against the Suns, Kings, and Rockets looming. It’s probable that Luka won’t play in any of them. Kyrie Irving and the supporting cast will need to flush this game and lock in for this stretch if they want to continue their winning ways sans Luka.
The Maverick bigs got punk’d
Both Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford looked overmatched against Rudy Gobert and Julius Randle for much of this one. Last game against Portland, the Dallas duo dominated the mediocre Blazer bigs. But Minnesota’s frontcourt is another animal, and it was disappointing to see this kind of performance. Lively did play well down the stretch during the Mavericks’ comeback attempt, but it didn’t negate the poor play from earlier in the game. So much of Dallas’s identity is predicated on their bigs, so it’s tough to win when both of them get outplayed. Shoutout to Maxi Kleber, however— he played incredible defense in the fourth quarter and even hit a couple threes today.
Maybe don’t wait until you’re down 28 to play hard
The fourth-quarter comeback was really fun, and the Mavericks finally played with force. If they brought that energy from the jump (or even after halftime), they might have been able to pull this one out, even without Doncic. It’s nice that this team can flip the switch when they need to, but when you spend three quarters farting around and getting down big, it’s hard to pull off a miraculous comeback.