Mavericks lead from get-go to crush Timberwolves
On a night when Hollywood was honoring its finest in the movie industry, the Dallas Mavericks were busy putting on an Oscar-worthy performance at American Airlines Center.
Granted, Minnesota is one of the bottom-feeders of the NBA. But the Mavs took the Timberwolves apart Sunday night, leading wire-to-wire and winning 128-101.
The Mavs (32-28) padded their record to 3-1 on this season-high six-game homestand that resumes Tuesday against Orlando. Minnesota, which shot more than 50 percent from the field in three straight games, was held to 37.8 percent shooting and dropped to a dismal 19-41.
The key to the game was the starters getting off to a great start.
Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle
After hearing so many theories about their numerous slow starts this season, the Mavs finally did something about it.
While utilizing their transition game to dole out a season-high 34 assists, the Mavs led comfortably 37-17 with 1:55 still remaining in the first quarter and finished the game shooting 52.8 percent from the field.
Dallas ended the first period ahead 39-24, and that set the tone for the rest of the game that was mostly garbage time. The 39 points are the most the Mavs have scored in the first quarter this season, and ties their best in any quarter this season.
“The key to the game was the starters getting off to a great start from the beginning of the game and in the beginning of the second half,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “The defense was better than it had been in recent days.’’
We haven’t had many of these games where we can actually blow out a team.
Chandler Parsons of the Mavericks
With Dallas’ defense smothering the Timberwolves, the Mavs got 10 points apiece from Chandler Parsons and Dirk Nowitzki in a first quarter that saw the Mavs shoot 64 percent and distribute 13 assists on their 16 baskets.
“This was just a mature win for us,” said Parsons, who scored 29 points on 10 of 15 shots. “We haven’t had many of these games where we can actually blow out a team.
“We’ve gotten big leads, but then we kind of let teams to get back in. So this was huge for us to stay out of the fourth quarter.”
It was the largest margin of victory this season for the Mavs, who beat Philadelphia by 26 points on Feb. 21 to start this homestand.
The Mavs were so dominant they led by 31 points — 111-80 with 8:18 left in the game — and none of their starters hit the court in the fourth quarter.
Nowitzki had some foul issues and played only 17 minutes, including just 1:46 of the second half. But Carlisle wasn’t complaining.
“When you play 10 overtime games, a guy like Nowitzki that should be averaging 29 minutes is now averaging 31,” Carlisle said. “It makes a difference.
“On a night like tonight when we can get him down to below 20, it’s a mental break as well as a physical break.”
He’s one of many weapons and he’s clearly one of our best players.
Carlisle on Parsons
who scored 29 pointsParsons scored 13 straight points for the Mavs bridging the second and third quarters as he kept darting around the court and firing in 3-pointers or attacking the rim foreasy-opportunity baskets.
“I thought Parsons had a huge impact game offensively, which carried us once Dirk got in foul trouble,” Carlisle said. “So we went to him a lot and he delivered and played a really, really smart game.
“He’s one of many weapons and he’s clearly one of our best players. We need him in that attacking, play-making mode, and we need him to play solid and be resourceful on defense.”
As they continue to have hope of snagging the Western Conference’s No. 5 seed, the Mavs — who are tied for sixth with Portland — also need what they got from their starters Sunday. That is: 70 points, 21 rebounds and 19 assists in just three quarters of work.
Dwain Price: 817-390-7760, @dwainprice
This story was originally published February 28, 2016 at 10:11 PM with the headline "Mavericks lead from get-go to crush Timberwolves."