Luka Doncic Uses Heckler as Fuel in Mavs’ Win vs. Timberwolves

Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic helped lead his team to a win over the Minnesota Timberwolves with the help of a surprise contributor.

The Dallas Mavericks needed to bounce back after losing the first of a two-game mini-series against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Luka Doncic led the way in the Mavs' 104-99 victory with 25 points, nine rebounds, and 10 assists. 

Doncic was often getting double-teamed early in possessions by the Timberwolves' defense. While the hot fourth-quarter shooting of his teammates provided an important boost, so did the fuel that a heckling fan's trash talk.. 

“It was one guy talking to me a lot of times,” Doncic said. “I didn’t see him [at the end]. When we shot a lot of free throws, he left probably already, but you know, it gets me going. Talking to fans, I love that. It gets me going, but that’s a big win. Honestly I think we played great basketball today. We shared the ball and it was a great win.”

Luka Doncic had a back-and-forth with a Timberwolves fan and credits that for "getting him going" in the win.

"It was one guy talking to me a lot of times. ... That gets me going — talking to fans, I love that. ... That was a big win. We shared the ball. It was a great win." pic.twitter.com/F4SAB5tdZS

— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) December 22, 2022

The Mavs' 116-106 loss to the Timberwolves in their first meeting on Monday featured no shortage of frustrations from Dallas' side. Doncic was assessed multiple technical fouls, resulting in an ejection, followed by his head coach, Jason Kidd, experiencing the same fate in response. Staying poised in the rematch was something that Doncic viewed as being important to the win. 

"Honestly, I think it's energy — body language," Doncic said. "Today it was unbelievable. That's how we got to learn. We have to play like this every game. We have to learn from that."

With the Mavs facing the Timberwolves in consecutive matchups, there was an opportunity to make adjustments after reviewing game film and immediately put those observations into action. Managing to win the second of the matchups as opposed to going 0-2 does bode well for that reason.

“We’re obviously looking at every game one at a time,” Mavs center Dwight Powell said. “It’s always difficult playing two games in one city against the same team.

“It’s definitely (an opportunity) to build on some of the things that we did good, but also adjust to the things we haven’t. So we’re definitely going to take this and try to grow from it.”

Among the Mavs' adjustments was simply becoming more poised when countering the Timberwolves' constant use of double-teams in pick-and-roll coverages. Dallas rarely got to the rim for a successful play in the first matchup, and while there is plenty of room for improvement remaining, there was improvement in their handling of the defensive pressure. 

The Mavs return to action on Friday when they take on the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center to conclude their four-game road trip.

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