Timberwolves lead throughout in a 122-111 win over Mavericks

Minnesota Timberwolves (35-22) beat Dallas Mavericks (19-36) 122-111 at home on Friday, February 20, never trailing at a quarter break.

The game, quarter by quarter

The Timberwolves struck first, taking the opening quarter 40-25 and a 15-point lead after one. The Mavericks cut into the deficit with a 32-29 second quarter, though the Timberwolves still led by 12 at halftime.

The Mavericks won the third 31-27 to stay in front, taking a 8-point lead into the fourth. The Timberwolves took the fourth 26-23; the Timberwolves finished the job for a 122-111 regulation win.

What decided it

The Timberwolves got more from their shots, finishing at 55.6% effective field-goal shooting compared with 46.4% for the Mavericks. The Timberwolves grabbed 36.2% of their own misses, while the Mavericks recovered 28.8%. That shooting gap supplied the clearest edge.

The Mavericks did win one battle, ball security: TOV% of 11.2 against 17.4. The Timberwolves made up for it elsewhere.

At roughly 108 possessions per team, the Timberwolves produced 112.9 points per 100 possessions to 102.7 for the Mavericks.

The Mavericks' reserves also made a difference, outscoring the opposing bench 42-23.

Who made the difference

Rudy Gobert was the game's biggest individual force for MIN: 22 pts, 17 reb, 1 ast, 3 blk on 9-11 shooting. His Game Score of 26 led everyone. His team was +6 with him on the floor.

Marvin Bagley III led the Mavericks with 15 pts, 13 reb, 0 ast on 5-9 shooting, good for a 16.7 Game Score.

Rudy Gobert (22 pts, 17 reb, 1 ast), P.J. Washington (12 pts, 12 reb, 2 ast), and Marvin Bagley III (15 pts, 13 reb, 0 ast) each recorded a double-double.

What it means

The result fit the pre-game Win Meter, which gave the Timberwolves about a 83% chance.

Across the last 5 meetings in our records, Minnesota Timberwolves lead 4-1.

The Timberwolves are now 35-22, and the Mavericks are 19-36. The Timberwolves last five before this game: W-L-L-W-W.

Written automatically by Tip Off Live software from box score data. Ratings and probabilities are our own model estimates.

Scoring by quarter

Team	1	2	3	4	T
Dallas Mavericks	25	32	31	23	111
Minnesota Timberwolves	40	29	27	26	122

Game flow

Margin after each period. Above the line the home team leads; below it the visitors lead. Tap a point to see the score.

Q4: Dallas Mavericks 111, Minnesota Timberwolves 122 · Timberwolves by 11

The same team led at every period break. Biggest gap at a period break: 15 for Timberwolves after Q1.

The four factors

Four numbers explain most basketball games: shooting, turnovers, rebounding and free throws. The highlighted side had the edge. Tap a row to see what it measures.

MavericksTimberwolves

Pace: about 108 possessions per team. Points per 100 possessions: Mavericks 102.7, Timberwolves 112.9.

Players of the game

Ranked by Game Score, a single number that rolls up points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, shooting efficiency, fouls and turnovers.

Rudy Gobert MIN22 pts, 17 reb, 1 ast, 3 blk on 9-11 shooting

Anthony Edwards MIN40 pts, 6 reb, 1 ast on 16-30 shooting

25.1

Naz Reid MIN21 pts, 7 reb, 4 ast on 8-14 shooting

19.3

Marvin Bagley III DAL15 pts, 13 reb, 0 ast on 5-9 shooting

16.7

Dallas Mavericks

Player	MIN	PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	FG	3PT	FT	+/−
P.J. WashingtonF	36	12	12	2	2	0	0	4	5-17	2-5	0-2	+3
Naji MarshallF	33	15	5	3	3	0	3	2	5-16	0-4	5-7	+1
Khris MiddletonF	30	18	6	2	2	0	2	1	6-14	1-3	5-6	-7
Klay ThompsonG	28	11	0	2	1	0	1	2	4-12	3-9	0-0	-23
Tyus JonesG	26	13	1	6	0	0	0	1	6-10	1-1	0-0	+11
Daniel GaffordF	24	8	5	1	2	2	1	4	4-7	0-0	0-0	-6
Marvin Bagley IIIF	24	15	13	0	0	1	1	1	5-9	1-2	4-4	-5
Brandon WilliamsG	18	13	1	4	0	0	2	1	4-8	0-1	5-8	-15
Caleb MartinF	15	4	2	1	2	0	1	2	1-2	0-0	2-2	-16
AJ JohnsonG	05	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	1-2	0-0	0-0	+2
Miles KellyG	00	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0
Dwight PowellF-C	00	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0
Max ChristieG	00	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0
Moussa CisseC	00	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0
Cooper FlaggF	00	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0
Kyrie IrvingG	00	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0
Dereck Lively IIC	00	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0
Ryan NembhardG	00	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0
Team		111	45	21	12	3	12	18	41-97	8-25	21-29

Minnesota Timberwolves

Player	MIN	PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	FG	3PT	FT	+/−
Anthony EdwardsG	38	40	6	1	1	0	3	2	16-30	5-13	3-4	+17
Jaden McDanielsF	34	7	8	5	2	1	6	4	3-11	1-4	0-1	+1
Rudy GobertC	32	22	17	1	1	3	2	3	9-11	0-1	4-8	+6
Donte DiVincenzoG	31	9	5	9	1	0	1	4	3-5	3-5	0-0	+19
Naz ReidF-C	30	21	7	4	1	2	2	1	8-14	4-8	1-2	+12
Julius RandleF	29	13	5	3	1	0	5	3	4-15	1-4	4-4	+8
Ayo DosunmuG	27	5	2	3	0	0	0	3	2-9	1-5	0-0	+2
Nah'Shon HylandG	15	3	4	2	0	0	0	1	1-3	1-2	0-0	-6
Joan BeringerF	04	2	0	0	0	2	0	1	1-1	0-0	0-0	-4
Jaylen ClarkG	00	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0
Mike ConleyG	00	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0
Enrique FreemanF	00	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0
Joe InglesF	00	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0
Julian PhillipsF	00	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0
Terrence Shannon Jr.G-F	00	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0
Rocco ZikarskyC	00	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0
Team		122	54	28	7	8	19	22	47-99	16-42	12-19

Team comparison

DALMIN

Field goal %42.3%

47.5%

Three-point %32%

38.1%

Free throw %72.4%

63.2%

Rebounds45

Assists21

Steals12

Blocks3

Turnovers12

Bench points42

Recent meetings

Jan 28: MIN 118, DAL 105
Nov 17: DAL 96, MIN 120
Jan 22: MIN 115, DAL 114
Dec 25: MIN 105, DAL 99
Oct 29: DAL 120, MIN 114