Luka Doncic's Dallas Mavs Overpowered By Minnesota Timberwolves in NBA Preseason Loss

The Mavs trailed by as many as 29 points in the first half of their preseason opener loss against the Timberwolves in Abu Dhabi.

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — In the Dallas Mavericks' preseason opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the team provided rookies Dereck Lively II and Olivier-Maxence Prosper the opportunity to start alongside Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, and Grant Williams. The T-Wolves went on to win, with 111-99 being the final score.

The Timberwolves opted not to play Anthony Edwards in the game with him nursing a left ankle injury. Minnesota's star-studded frontcourt with Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert posed issues. Towns totaled 20 points and four rebounds in 17 minutes, while Gobert scored nine points and grabbed eight rebounds in 23 minutes.

"I thought they did a really good job. They were rookies," Mavs coach Jason Kidd said of Lively and Prosper. "There was some good stuff that Derek did going against Gobert and KAT. O-Max had some good looks that didn't go down for him tonight."

Outside of a terrible start, the Mavs outscored the Timberwolves by a six-point margin. In the first quarter, Dallas shot just 6-23 from the floor and missed all ten attempts from beyond the arc, while the Timberwolves shot 12-24 overall and 6-12 from the perimeter. An 18-point disparity dug a deep hole that worsened before halftime.

Lively picked up his second foul at the 8:20 mark of the first quarter as the Timberwolves held an 11-1 lead. With Lively and the Mavs' smaller frontcourt personnel playing their first game together, the first test proved challenging against such a talented frontcourt. Minnesota led by 29 points in the second quarter, putting the game out of reach for Dallas.

"When you look at the new pieces that we have, the limited time that we've been together, [the defense] is not gonna look good," Kidd said. "But there were stretches there where we did play pretty good defense. It all comes down to being able to rebound the ball, and we struggled there early. But some different rotations, some different combinations, we did a really good job of rebounding the ball.

"Also getting off to a slow start offensively just put us in a bad situation mentally. We've gotta get better at understanding that some nights we're not just gonna have to rely on our offense. We've gotta play defense if we want to win."

Minnesota Timberwolves’ Rudy Gobert backs down Dallas Mavericks’ Dereck Lively II :: Chris Marion/NBAE via Getty Images

While Irving struggled to make shots by scoring just two points on 1-6 shooting from the floor, Doncic put on a show for fans before his performance ended at the half, scoring 25 points before the break. He gave the crowd one last highlight by converting a step-back 3 with 42.5 seconds remaining in the second quarter. The plan entering the game was for Doncic and Irving to receive 15-16 minutes, but their playing time could increase on Saturday.

"We've talked to those two about their minutes. Hopefully, we'll see their minutes on Saturday go up," Kidd said of Doncic and Irving. "This is a long journey, a long season, and we're just at the beginning of that."

The Mavs have to balance managing the workload of Doncic and Irving with evaluating other players on the roster. The team also has to account for maximizing the fan experience for those in Abu Dhabi who otherwise will not be able to see these big names play. 

"We wanted to see the younger guys play," Kidd said. "Luka loves to play. Kai loves to play. But there's a sense of trying to get as much as we can here and also be able to let the public see Luka and Kai on the floor. They're not going to play 48 minutes on Saturday, but hopefully, we can get more minutes for those, for those guys."

The Mavs kept Irving, Lively, and Williams out of the game beyond the break, allowing Josh Green and Jaden Hardy to initiate. Both players took advantage of an increased workload, leading a rally attempt to cut the deficit to 77-72 at the 3:00 mark of the third quarter. Dallas never came closer, with Minnesota creating separation with an 87-74 advantage entering the fourth quarter.

"Once I hear my name called, I'm just trying to bring a spark," Hardy said. "Once I got out there, I wanted to bring some life to the team and bring some energy. I wanted to try to play my game by getting my teammates open and still trying to create my own shots. I'm trying to make the right play."

The Mavs' cycling through of bench personnel in the third quarter allowed Richaun Holmes, Dante Exum, and Markieff Morris to see the floor. Dallas continued to throw out different combinations in the final period, primarily to provide playing time for players signed to two-way contracts, Exhibit 10 deals, or camp deals, like A.J. Lawson, Greg Brown III, Dexter Dennis, Jordan Walker, and Joe Wieskamp.

The Mavs and Timberwolves will face off against each other again on Saturday in the final of a two-game series at Etihad Arena.