Wolves weather early storm, blow past Mavericks

Naz Reid turned in a dominant performance off the bench in Minnesota's win.

It was all good vibes for the Timberwolves ahead of Thursday night’s game in Dallas — Anthony Edwards was back in the starting lineup.

But then came time to actually play the game against the Mavericks.

Dallas jumped out to a 17-2 lead behind a torrid start from Luka Doncic and the Wolves looked lost on the court at American Airlines Center.

Would they have an answer to the early onslaught?

You bet they would. Minnesota fought its way to an 119-101 win behind stellar performances off the bench from Naz Reid and Nickeil Alexander-Walker.

Reid was particularly dominant, scoring 19 of his 27 points in the first half. Reid also had six boards and three assists. Alexander-Walker scored 10 of his 13 in the first as Minnesota battled its way back from the early 15-point deficit.

"They came out hot, they made a lot of shots, our defense was a little bit soft, wasn't what it needed to be," Timberwolves coach Chris Finch told reporters postgame. "But it was really our offense. Turned it over two of the first four possessions, took a bunch of crappy shots. We didn't play smart there." 

But the Wolves quickly started to turn things around, going on a 9-0 run that cut the deficit to six. They were down by just a point by halftime despite Doncic tallying 26 points and giving them all they could handle.

The Wolves (18-5) slowly started to pull away in the second half, going up by five by the end of the third quarter as Karl-Anthony Towns started to heat up.

He finished with 21 points and 17 rebounds.

Reid continued to dominate in the fourth quarter, taking charge as the Wolves closed out the victory. He knocked down seven 3-pointers on the night, a career high. He shot 8 for 14 from the floor and 7 of 11 from long range.

"I was feeling good. Last couple games it hasn't been to the level that it is," Reid said in is postgame, on-court interview. "But that's part of the game. You go through ups and downs, and it was going tonight and my teammates kept finding me and I was able to make those shots." 

Edwards struggled in his return from the hip pointer, shooting just 3 for 19 and finishing with nine points on the night. He did, however, contribute with 11 assists and two steals.

Doncic put together an incredible game for the Mavericks (15-9). He had 39 points, 13 assists and six rebounds but didn’t get much help from his team. As the Wolves took a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter, his frustration was visible on the court.

By the time the game ended, the opening minutes felt like an entirely different game. The Wolves responded and completely took charge after falling behind in the opening minutes. It was the type of response required of a team with championship aspirations.

Final key stats

• Naz Reid: 27 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal
• Karl-Anthony Towns: 21 points, 17 rebounds, 2 assists
• Mike Conley: 14 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, 1 steal
• Nickeil Alexander-Walker: 13 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 block
• Jaden McDaniels: 11 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block
• Anthony Edwards: 9 points on 3-for-19 shooting, 11 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 steals
• Luka Doncic: 39 points, 13 assists, 6 rebounds, 2 steals