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Coming into their game in Minnesota, the Dallas Mavericks had the worst road record in the NBA and were about to face Karl Anthony Towns and the recently recharged Timberwolves
In the 7 games before this matchup, Towns was on a tear averaging 28.3 points, 15.4 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 2.9 blocks. The Timberwolves had just fired their head coach Tom Thibodeau and were fresh off of a big road win over the Thunder.
But Luka Doncic and the Mavericks needed a win in the tight western conference race where every game matter especially potential tie breakers down the line.
Like the classic story trope, before the Mavs could revel in their victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves it got dark, really dark when J.J. Barea cut into the lane and hit a layup to put the Mavs back up by 10. But almost as soon as Barea hit the floor he grabbed for his achilles tendon. This is a brutal loss for the Mavericks. Like my Locked On Mavs co-host Isaac Harris likes to say, JJ Barea is the head of the snake in regards to the Mavs 2nd unit. He makes everything work.
After the game we would learn that he had actually torn his achilles tendon.
Back on the court the Mavs 10-point lead evaporated in about 4 minutes. Towns scored one of the easiest baskets of his life against Luka in the post and tied the game to cap off a 15-5 run for the Timberwolves.
Dallas took a timeout and then Luka magic took over. Let’s breakdown how the Mavericks came back to beat the Timberwolves on the road.
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