Kristaps Porzingis scored 27 points and grabbed 13 rebounds and the Dallas Mavericks held off a late rally to defeat the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves 127-122 Monday night.
Luka Doncic added 26 points, eight rebounds and five assists, Tim Hardaway Jr. came off the bench for 24 points, Josh Richardson scored 18 and Dwight Powell added 12 for the Mavericks, who won consecutive games for the first time since Jan. 20-22.
Doncic scored 25 or more points for the 11th consecutive game, two shy of the franchise record held by Mark Aguirre and Dirk Nowitzki.
Malik Beasley had 30 points and nine rebounds and Anthony Edwards scored 22 points for the Timberwolves, who lost for the fourth time in their past five games. Jaylen Nowell added a career-high 18 points, and Josh Okogie scored 11.
The Timberwolves, who trailed 95-77 going into the fourth quarter, pulled within 123-120 on Beasley’s putback that capped a 10-0 run with 50.8 seconds remaining. Beasley made two 3-pointers during the surge and Edwards threw down a dunk.
Richardson made a fadeaway 10-footer with 27.7 seconds left to give the Mavericks a five-point advantage. Then he rebounded Beasley’s errant 3-pointer with 17.7 seconds to go and made two free throws with 15.4 seconds remaining to help clinch the victory.
Guard D’Angelo Russell returned to the Timberwolves starting lineup after missing Saturday’s game but was limited to just 5:35 of playing time in the first quarter before leaving with leg soreness. He scored six points.
Jarrett Culver (left ankle sprain) and Karl-Anthony Towns (health and safety protocols) remained out for Minnesota.
The Mavericks led by as many as 25 points in the first half and were up 71-51 at the intermission, shooting 59.1 percent (26 of 44) from the field. Hardaway came off the bench to score 18 points and Porzingis had 17 points and nine rebounds in the half.
Porzingis scored 15 in the first quarter as the Mavericks built a 43-22 advantage. Hardaway had 10 points, with his dunk sparking a 20-3 run to close the quarter.
–Field Level Media