Mavs Lose Steam in Second Half; Drop 4th-Straight Game

The wheels fell off the wagon for the Mavs in the second half in a 111-87 loss to the Timberwolves. Dallas drops to 2-14 on the season.

With five minutes remaining in the second quarter the Mavericks held a 14-point lead, a lead that quickly vanished as the second half started. Dallas was firing on all cylinders in the first half: hitting open shots, getting to the rim and even putting together an impressive defensive performance. The second half was anything but that.

Once the Timberwolves’ offense began clicking, and Jeff Teague and Jimmy Butler started heating up, the Mavericks just could not keep up. All five of the Minnesota starters scored in double figures, with Butler leading the way with 21 points, followed by Andrew Wiggins with 19, and Karl-Anthony Towns putting up a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds.

In the first half, Dallas kept the three-headed monster of Butler, Wiggins and Towns in check, due in large part to Maxi Kleber’s, who was making his first NBA career start, defensive effort against Towns. However, Kleber, and Salah Mejri, could not keep the walking double-double machine at bay for the entire game.

After scoring 15 points in the first half, Harrison Barnes was nonexistent in the second half scoring only three points, and posting a plus-minus score of -25.

A bright spot came in the first quarter, as Dirk Nowitzki hit another milestone in his Hall of Fame career, passing Hakeem Olajuwon as 8th on the all-time field goals made list with 10,750. Dirk was the only other Dallas starter to score in double figures, finishing the game with 15 points.

Dennis Smith Jr., and Wes Matthews combined for a low 16 points on a combined 6-23 from the field, as neither of them got into a groove throughout the game.

For as good of a performance as the first half was for Dallas, the second half was a nightmare, getting outscored 68-32, with the starting five shooting 33.3% from the field.

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After facing the high-powered offense of Minnesota, Dallas will now have to try and contain Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is averaging 30 points per game, on the second night of a back-to-back when they take on Milwaukee tomorrow night.