Mavs Role Players Step Up Big on Doncic Off Night vs. Wolves

The Dallas Mavericks squeaked by the Minnesota Timberwolves despite a rough scoring night from Luka Doncic.

In a matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves — which had potentially significant implications on playoff seeding — the Dallas Mavericks managed to pull out a 110-108 win despite Luka Doncic shooting 5-17 from the floor and 3-11 on 3s with eight turnovers.

Including Doncic's 15 points, the Mavericks received double-figure scoring outings from six players, each of them reaching or exceeding the 15-point threshold. Dwight Powell (22) and Spencer Dinwiddie (20) combined for 42 points. 

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Luka Doncic & Spencer Dinwiddie

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Dwight Powell Dunks vs. Timberwolves

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Jalen Brunson Drives vs. Timberwolves

That feat — six players scoring at least 15 points — hasn't happened since April 23, 1989. Surprisingly, it never even happened once during the entire 21-year Dirk Nowitzki era. 

“It speaks to the resolve,” Spencer Dinwiddie said. “Obviously, we trust Luka 1,000 percent. We know to be our best, he has to be at a high level. But it also is good every now and then, if he does have an off night, to have enough resolve as a unit to get a win against a quality opponent.”

Doncic commanded significant attention from the Timberwolves' defense and still managed to create plenty of quality shots for his teammates. Perhaps the top showcase of this was Dwight Powell, who went 8-8 from the floor and had a night that stacked up quite favorably with Karl-Anthony Towns. Towns finished with 22 points himself and was one week removed from dropping a season and career-best 60 points on the San Antonio Spurs.

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Luka Doncic Defends Karl-Anthony Towns

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Dorian Finney-Smith Corner 3 vs. Timberwolves

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Luka Doncic & Spencer Dinwiddie

“First of all, even though he (Luka) didn’t necessarily score at the clip he normally does, he still created massive problems for their defense,” Powell said. “He found open guys. He maybe didn’t knock down all the shots, but he was disrupting their defense.

“But in terms of guys stepping up, it’s important that we continue to develop and find ways to put the ball in the basket even when certain guys aren’t making shots.”

As a result of winning this game, the Mavericks trail the Utah Jazz by just one game for fourth in the Western Conference standings and are now up two games on the Denver Nuggets and 2.5 games on the Timberwolves.