Stats rundown: 3 numbers from the Mavericks victory over the Timberwolves

The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 114-102 despite missing Luka Doncic, Kristaps Porzingis, Maxi Kleber, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Reggie Bullock among others. To say the Mavericks were short handed is an understatement. But they still managed to pull out a win against a Timberwolves team that is ahead of them in the standings.

Here are the numbers to know.

28: Points scored by Jalen Brunson

With all of the missing firepower, the onus clearly fell on Brunson to create offense and he did so incredibly well. Brunson scored these 28 points on an efficient 10-of-18 shooting night. Perhaps more importantly for his ability to play heavy minutes with Luka going forward, he took eight threes. The only real flaw in Brunson’s offense other than his struggles with teams who combine length and athleticism, has been his unwillingness to be a volume shooter. Tonight was a step forward in this respect.

22: Points the Mavericks outscored the Timberwolves by during Dorian Finney-Smith’s 41 minutes

Finney-Smith has received a fair amount of criticism from this site but that criticism has never been about him. It has always been that he is asked to do too much. Tonight he was asked to do even more and he was up to it. 19 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals is a fantastic night for Finney-Smith.

15 and 8: The number of points and rebounds for Dwight Powell

The production from the supporting cast as a whole was incredibly impressive tonight. In only 21 minutes, Dwight Powell managed to put up 15 points and eight rebounds. This production was crucial in getting the Mavericks this much needed victory but it was also a reminder that despite his prodigious talents, Karl Anthony-Towns has his own shortcomings.

The team desperately needs any win it can get at this point and they should be proud of themselves for being able to pull one out on a night where they were clearly at a major talent disadvantage.

Bonus stat 1: The number of jabs that the actual greatest shooting big man of all time took at Karl Anthony-Towns.

Dirk will forever be the best.

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