Game Recap: Timberwolves Take a Bite Out of Mavs, 117-108

by zdgmans on Feb 5, 2010 10:26 PM CST in News Comment 16 comments

The 4 and 21 (away) Minnesota Timberwolves come into Dallas looking to extend their two game win streak that was started by the Clippers and Knicks. The Mavericks have been up and down lately, looking okay in short spurts but seemingly unable to put together a complete game.

Does youth outclass veteran cunning?

Game as a Whole:

The Mavericks are who we though they were. They return to their losing ways as they crash and burn in the fourth after battling valiantly to get back into the game. Where did it all go wrong for the Mavericks? Starting at the end of the third where the Timberwolves made a three at the buzzer, the Dallas Mavericks couldn’t seem to slow Minnesota or figure out how to put the ball in the basket.

Dallas made it a game with the help of Beaubois and the three-guard line up (expect to see more of that in the future). Unfortunately for the Mavericks, Dirk Nowitzki fouls Corey Brewer on a three, which essentially gift-wraps the game for the Timberwolves. In the end, veteran teams should never let it get that close but this a different Mavericks team.

Let’s look at the quarters…

1st Quarter:

Dirk isn’t starting?! He was late to shoot around. Tsk Tsk.
Dallas controls the tip.
Kidd starts with a midrange jumper that doesn’t fall.
11:04, Howard drives and makes an awkward layup. We’ll take it.
We’re taking jump shots that aren’t going in. Hint: try something else.
8:52, Marion with the assist to Dampier who hammers it home. The Mavs get it back when the Wolves mess up the inbounds pass.
8:38, Kidd takes advantage of the extra possession by getting his 93^rd 3-pointer of the year.
Corey Brewer has made two threes already in the game. That means the Mavericks should guard him out there.
Marion gets back-to-back offensive rebounds. He then scores on the 3^rd chance, showing that hustle pays off!
Dirk makes his first appearance at 6:48. Consider his wrists appropriately slapped.
6:30, Terry gets an unassisted basket.
5:56, When Kidd gets his feet set, those 3-pointers are a sure thing. He’s now 5^th all time in NBA history.
4:47, Dirk gets on the board with a pretty little jumper.
4:11, When Damp can’t find a way to score under the basket, he passes out to Howard who makes a short two.
3:46, Roddy comes in for Kidd. Beaubois is now the backup point guard. Sorry, Barea.
2:29, Gooden makes an excellent shot fake, and then drives in for a nice layup to get some points on the board.
2:02, Terry drives hard to the basket and gets fouled. He makes both free throws.
1:15, Terry brings the ball down on a fast break, but when the ball doesn’t drop, Roddy is right behind him to tip it in. Excellent teamwork.
:31.0, Beaubois is fast. He speeds into the lane for a quick layup.

2nd Quarter:

Roddy still in as PG to start the 2^nd quarter. He makes a lovely three at 11:36.
10:12, Gooden makes a nice little running jumper after the T-Wolves commit a turnover on the Dallas end.
9:11, Gooden is fouled by Al Jefferson. He makes both shots.
9:09, Beaubois forces a turnover by the T-Wolves on the inbounds play. Excellent hustle.
8:18, Dirk drives to the basket and earns a trip to the line. He makes them both.
7:55, Dirk gives Dallas their first lead of the game with his specialty shot. Minnesota quickly takes the lead back.
6:54, Marion takes it to the hoop strong. The lead is seesawing!
5:18, Dampier misses his first shot but gets his own rebound and puts it in.  
3:15, Dampier picks up his third foul on the Mavericks’ 11-0 run. Dallas is currently up by eight.
2:22, Terry throws a pretty great behind the back pass to Howard (first behind the back pass I have ever seen Terry execute). Howard misses but gets his own rebound and scores.
As for Ryan Hollins, he was definitely a spark for the Mavericks but he seems to fit much better with the Timberwolves.
Howard already has 11 for tonight and has been aggressive. One can hope all this negative talk would inspire him to prove something.

3rd Quarter:

As Howard gets to play more minutes with Marion they will establish more of a chemistry that will pay off in spades. Everyone needs to give them time.
The Mavericks have started the quarter 0 for 3. Timberwolves have gone ahead on a three.
9:24, Marion tries to pass before gathering in the ball (he was a bit out of control to begin with) and it ends up sailing way out of bounds.
Terry and Dirk are currently the only two Mavericks to score this quarter.
7:19, Back-to-back Maverick offensive sequences have ended with turnovers. The ball has been going to Terry in both cases.
6:18, Kidd realizes that since nobody else wants to score he is going to have to do it himself. Misses a three, misses a layup and finally gets a put back bucket plus the foul.
5:21, Worst sequence in the game for both teams. We see a no call on Nowitzki, a turnover by the Timberwolves, a turnover by Dallas, and then a throw-away by the Timberwolves just for good measure.
It is surprising that the Timberwolves aren’t up by more than six as they shoot 10 for 14 from the three-point line.
2:37, Beaubois comes in as the shooting guard to hopefully give the Mavericks some spark.
The Mavericks get booed on their home floor, classy.
:28.9, Beaubois shows why you need to have the behind the back pass in your arsenal.

4th Quarter:

Beaubois starts the quarter off with a nice assist to Dirk.
Terry has been a turnover machine in the second half. I find it strange how no one has asked for Terry to be traded.
Every time the Mavericks start to make a surge they make a mistake on the defensive end to give Minnesota the game.
Wilkins, who has been playing out of his mind, picks up his fifth foul.
9:28, Two clutch three-pointers for Beaubois. He is keeping the Mavericks in the game.
7:10, Kevin Love leans into an offensive foul that Beaubois picks up.
6:36, Beaubois is making a strong case for more minutes on this team. Barea hasn’t played a minute tonight, but can he even really make a case for being on the floor?
Kidd, Terry and Beaubois are all on the floor now. Mavericks come out with a zone defense on the Timberwolves.
5:13, Kidd gets all the way to the cup and is fouled. Mavericks shoot foul shots the rest of the way.
4:02, Hollins tries the flop on a Nowitzki spin move, the refs don’t buy it.
2:35, Jason Terry with a steal and then Hollins fouls out on a Kidd foul.
1:51, Veteran move by Nowitzki to take it to the basket and draw the foul. Makes one of two to tie the game.
1:25, Dampier makes 1 of 2 and the Mavericks are still down 1.
Nowitzki makes what could be the costliest mistake of the game, fouling Corey Brewer on a three.

Some Choice Statistics:

This is the first time since 1999 that Dirk hasn’t started in a game in which he is available to play.
The Mavericks scored 14-second chance points in the second half.
In the last seven games the Mavericks have given up over 100 points six times.

Closing Thoughts:

Beaubois could be the savior of this Maverick team if he continues to get the same amount of playing time. Dallas is in need of someone who will take the ball hard to the basket and who can stay in front of the opposing teams’ point guard. Howard also should be inserted back into the starting line up as he has begun showing signs that his slump is coming to an end.

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Comments

Well....

That sucked, I can’t even watch the games and right now, I don’t mind to much, we have been playing like crap for over a month now and its getting ridiculous, I can understand losing a few games a year we should win (its a long season) but we have been dropping too many lately, best case scenario is that they are bored and that isn’t an excuse for playing a month + of crap basketball

by nicholas.rodriguez on Feb 5, 2010 10:52 PM CST reply actions

Shouldn't they have had him on the verge of shooting a brick then?

Remember to retire Fin's number, Mark.

by jonthefon on Feb 6, 2010 1:31 AM CST up reply actions

If Josh Howard's going to be a bobblehead,

there needs to be a reefer stuck between his teeth.

"It has come to the editor’s attention that the Herald-Leader neglected to cover the civil rights movement. We regret the omission."

by feral on Feb 6, 2010 9:17 AM CST up reply actions

Chris Douglas-Roberts

doesn’t look like he will be with the Nets much longer. I’m not saying he’s the answer, but I think he would be better then Ross.

On the court they call me The Cloud, because I make it rain. They also call me Money, because I drop dimes.

by srdmad on Feb 6, 2010 1:12 AM CST reply actions

Holy fuck

we’re an extremely shit team.

Remember to retire Fin's number, Mark.

by jonthefon on Feb 6, 2010 1:30 AM CST reply actions

Allas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle

(not playing hard right now or not very good right now?) "Unfortunately, it’s probably both. We’re not going to be good until we play hard. But look, they shot 55 percent in the first quarter, the second quarter was by far our best when they shot 43 and we did a much better job, more proactive. They shot 60 in the third and 55 in the fourth. Those numbers don’t lie. We had another disappointing loss."

(on Nowitzki coming off the bench) "Did it hamper him? When you get guys coming in late, those things to throw things out of whack. That’s just the way it is in this league. He knew he was wrong and forgot we were walking through stuff at 5 o’clock and didn’t show up until 25 after. I just think this team has more pride than they are showing."

"We need to dig down and find some pride. It’s as simple as that."

(on Beaubois) "He was active. We all know he’s made progress. Finishing a game like that is something he’s hasn’t quite done. He had the overtime in Milwaukee early in the year. He certainly came up and made some plays. A couple times, he got in tough situations. But his intentions were very good and his effort was good. There were a few rookie mistakes in the fourth quarter that were costly. But he definitely played aggressively."

Mavs guard Roddy Beaubois

(On the physical play in the game?) – "Yeah it was for sure because they (Minnesota) really wanted to win so they played really hard and we didn’t play hard all day long."

(Talk about your season-high points?) – "We didn’t win so I really am not thinking about my game. I made a lot of mistakes, I got called for charging two times and made some mental mistakes on defense so I think I can play better so we could have won the game but I didn’t do that so I need to get better."

(Talk about your increased minutes?) – "The coaches have talked to me about that and that kind of helped me and so I’m feeling more comfortable."

Mavs forward Drew Gooden

aaaaaahhhhhh

(Why has the defense struggled the last several games?) – "It’s so frustrating but we’ve got to find a way to get this thing together. Even that win against Golden State wasn’t us and tonight it came back and bit us and we haven’t been playing good basketball as of late."

"This game is over with and we’ve got to move on and try to right the ship before All-Star break."

Timberwolves Head Coach Kurt Rambis

See? Shit works!

(Three straight wins…) – "Very nice. Very nice. We talked to our guys about keeping a focus on things that we can control in terms of our defense, rebounding, and taking care of the basketball. We did a solid job rebounding, not a great job. I thought our defense was pretty good most of the ballgame. We had some stretches where we had lapses, but our guys are learning how to play together. How to take charges, how to defend pick-and-rolls, how to defend individuals in the league – those are all acquired skills and learning sets for our guys. They need experience playing against guys and that all helps. Our turnovers still cause a problem for us, it’s just the nature of our young ball club and it’s been our nemesis all year and it’s caused us problems. But, for the most part I like what our guys did in terms of executing our offense, moving the basketball, playing defense, staying attached to the defensive game plan, so I was very pleased."

(Things began to unravel in the fourth quarter then you got your legs back…) – "I told the team afterwards I thought our guys keeping their heads up – that was the point of ballgames in the past that our guys would start to disappear, things not go their way, they would miss shots, the defense turned up, Dallas turned their defense up so the pressure started to bother us, so that’s the time usually go south for us. So we made an adjustment in their pick-and-roll game, got some stops there. Kevin [Love] taking a couple of charges was huge for us, you get a possession that way, and you stop them from scoring. Those were two huge plays, and they rode that tide. And that’s what I told them that I was most proud of during the ballgame that they just kept playing. When the game swings that way sometimes things don’t go your way, but you’ve just got to keep your head up, keep playing, keep doing the right things, and hopefully it’ll work out for you."

Timberwolves Center Ryan Hollins

On his recent play…"I’ve just been trying to bring energy into the lineup. My teammates have faith in me and we are just playing hard and trying to bring a winning mentality to the game."

On the winning streak…"It was one of those things were we made a change and I think we are learning ourselves even better and how to play within ourselves and everybody can understand where you can get shots from and we are buckling down on defense and just getting that growth and maturity as a team."

On the play of Al Jefferson and Kevin Love…"That is big. We all compliment each other and feed off each other and one of us get going, you know get a big offensive rebound or make a good post move and just try to pay together. I like this rotation, because as a big you might get shunned in a couple of offenses, but the offense always runs through you. You have the option of getting the ball in the post, run down and get a catch on the elbow, make a lot of decisions. It is kind of a free flowing offense."

On the 4th quarter resiliency… "We are growing as a team, we are learning where we need to make stops. Offensively, knowing where our shots are coming from. I think that is the biggest thing, is the shot selection. Not getting any turnovers and letting ourselves penetrate and pop and out and then feed the bigs. I think the bigs and smalls are playing really well together. But, defense wins ballgames and you can’t win without playing defense."

Timberwolves guard Jonny Flynn/strong>

On playing better since Coach Rambis make changes… "That is what I was thinking. I wish he would have had that team meeting that we had that resolved a lot of problems, it really helped us out and we are playing out best basketball now."

On the 4th quarter play…"I just think we really have matured as a team. It takes time for a team to mature, us being a young team. With a lot of different and new things going on with this team. A new coaching staff, new system, trying really to just get to know each other. We are starting to just really mature and find ourselves out there as a basketball team."

Did anyone mention to you what happened last year against Dallas…"No, what happened? Oh, so that is probably what you were all thinking when they were coming back in the fourth quarter huh? That is what everyone was thinking. I’m glad I didn’t know about that. But it just a good win against a playoff caliber team. We really held them off during that great run and we came away with a big win."

The Charles Barkley 2009/10 Ancestors Count: 7 Grandmothers , 2 Mothers Alltime: Reg. 27-2 Playoffs 7-0

"There were arms coming from everywhere, and I knew they weren’t going for the ball," Miller said. "I was just trying to get [the shot] up before they called some crap like ‘on the ground.’ "
"What do you want me to do?" Wright asked. "Do you want me to Derek Fisher him?"
"Give them some fucking credit, i mean for real." Jackson said.
"I just fell on my face for no reason," Bryant deadpanned. "I'm a klutz."
"Fucking right i'm preachin' it!" Carlisle replied. He later added "We need to not always make hard work out of sex." Take cover whenever he pulls the undoing-card..
"Rough life, isn't it. It's tough all over, isn't it." Smith chuckled.
Sheed for $30k: "They've got to know that he's a [darn] flopper. That's all Turkododo do."
"Ball." Hedo Turkoglu
Mutombo, Ewing and Yao at the restaurant...
MUTOMBO: "The chicken is the bomb."
EWING: [Rubbing belly] "I gotta go work out tonight. I'm full. You got a treadmill for me?"
YAO: " Leave your car keys here and run home. I'll give you the keys tomorrow."

by DOH on Feb 6, 2010 1:54 AM CST reply actions

Beaubois looks like a nice young player

’Course, I did just watch him score his season high against the vaunted rookie defense of Jonny Flynn…..

Wolves fan. For some reason or other, over time I’ve been tracking the various parts Oklahoma (née Seattle) acquired as a result of the Rashard Lewis sign and trade. Rodrigue Beaubois was the second of the three first rounders the Suns gave up for the privilege of sending Kurt Thomas Seattle’s way a few years ago. (The Suns did that for the Rashard trade exception.) Cuban, shrewdly it appears, swapped BJ Mullens for Beaubois on draft night.

I gotta say, that’s looking like a pretty nice asset for the future. Whether a team like the Mavs ought to be investing time in him right now is one of those things I can’t tell from a distance…. Barea being moved over to the SG to make room seems like a reach.

Sure seems like Cuban’s ability to reload hasn’t fallen apart, anyway. Whether you hang onto him or use him to make one more Mark Cuban deal, Beaubois has his positives.

"It has come to the editor’s attention that the Herald-Leader neglected to cover the civil rights movement. We regret the omission."

by feral on Feb 6, 2010 9:36 AM CST reply actions

And incidentally, you guys have good announcers

In the early fourth, they correctly observed that the Wolves’ guard play often breaks down in the late game. Completely true.

Well, well above the usual standard of coverage. We’re used to hearing Rubio jabs and other stuff that’s roughly on par with stuff like the initial AP headline for last night’s game: