Anthony Edwards puts up 44 as Wolves best Mavs

Field Level Media|published: Thu 28th December, 22:57 2023

Dec 28, 2023; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) works around Dallas Mavericks guard Jaden Hardy (1) in the first quarter at Target Center. credits: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

Anthony Edwards scored a season-high 44 points to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 118-110 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night in Minneapolis.

Edwards made six 3-pointers while equaling the third-highest scoring output of his career as the Timberwolves won for the 12th time in 15 games.

Dallas played without star Luka Doncic (quadriceps) for the second time in five games. Sidekick Kyrie Irving (heel) missed his 11th game in a row.

Rudy Gobert registered 20 points on 7-of-7 shooting and also had 11 rebounds and three blocked shots for Minnesota, which owns the second-best record in the NBA at 23-7. Jaden McDaniels added 12 points and four blocks for the Timberwolves.

Tim Hardaway Jr. matched his season high of 32 points and Jaden Hardy added 17 for the Mavericks, who lost for the sixth time in nine games.

Derrick Jones Jr. had 15 points, nine rebounds and three steals and Dwight Powell contributed 12 points, 14 rebounds and six assists for Dallas. Seth Curry and Dante Exum added 11 points apiece for the Mavericks.

Minnesota shot 51.4 percent from the field, including 17 of 33 (51.5 percent) from 3-point range. Mike Conley and Karl-Anthony Towns added 10 points apiece for the Timberwolves, who overcame 22 turnovers.

Dallas hit 44.4 percent of its shots and made 14 of 33 (42.4 percent) from behind the arc. The Mavericks committed 18 turnovers.

Dallas trailed by as many as 18 in the first quarter before recovering to a take a 72-71 edge on Powell's inside basket with 8:09 left in the third quarter.

A short time later, Edwards knocked down a 20-footer to start a 15-3 surge as Minnesota took an 88-77 lead with 3:23 left in the quarter. Edwards finished with 16 points in the period as the Timberwolves took a 98-91 lead into the final stanza.

Kyle Anderson knocked down his first 3-pointer since Nov. 8 to give Minnesota a 105-96 with 9:04 remaining.

A 3-pointer by Edwards made it 110-99 with 5:39 left before the Mavericks scored seven of the next eight points to move within five with 2:33 to go. However, Minnesota held off the charge.

Edwards scored 22 points in the first half as the Timberwolves led 61-56 at the break. Hardaway tallied 14 in the half for Dallas.

—Field Level Media

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