3 encouraging takeaways from Dallas Mavericks win over Timberwolves

The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves104-99 on Wednesday night. It was a nice bounce back for Dallas and Luka Doncic after a blowout loss in Minnesota just two days ago. The Timberwolves made life difficult for Luka, but his teammates stepped up to grab the win.

The Mavericks evened their record at 16-16 with the win as they snapped the Timberwolves' three-game winning streak. Dallas had five players in double-figures as they won without three key rotation players on Wednesday night.

What can MFFLs take away from the Mavs' win over the T’Wolves on Dec. 21? Here are three encouraging things, including a change in the starting lineup.

Takeaway from Dallas Mavericks win over Timberwolves: 3. Clutch shooting and defense seal win

The Mavs struggled to make threes for the first three quarters on Wednesday night, but they got hot in the fourth to grab a much-needed victory. Dallas was shooting under 30 percent from 3-point range for most of the game before making five in the fourth quarter to secure the win.

The Mavericks outplayed Minnesota in the fourth quarter as they held the Timberwolves to just 99 points. Their defensive performance was impressive on Wednesday night as the Mavericks were without Maxi Kleber, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Josh Green. Down three of their best defenders made the team effort even more impressive.

The Mavs needed to win on Wednesday night, and everybody stepped up to secure the victory. Tim Hardaway Jr. had a key 21 points and Spencer Dinwiddie had 18 to help lift Dallas back to .500 on the season.