Timberwolves enjoy a laugher all the way, roll past Mavericks 120-96

Chris Hine, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Nov 17, 2025

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MINNEAPOLIS — When asked recently what he made of his team’s good record against bad teams and bad record against good teams, Minnesota Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said the team could only face who was in front of them.

Well, Monday was another of those nights. In front of them was a depleted Dallas squad, and the Wolves did as they should against the Mavericks with a 120-96 victory, improving the Wolves to 9-5, but 9-0 against teams below .500.

Naz Reid led the Wolves with 22 points off the bench, including 19 in the first half, at Target Center.

Jaden McDaniels and Rudy Gobert had 15 apiece, Donte DiVincenzo 14 and Anthony Edwards 13.

No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg had 15 for Dallas.

How it happened

The Wolves have done well to win the games they should win, and Monday’s was never in doubt even with Edwards struggling to start. The Mavericks committed 19 turnovers and four players on the Wolves had at least two steals. With Dallas down its two starting centers, the Wolves were able to feed Gobert, who had 15 points, nine rebounds and four assists. He was 6 for 8 from the field.

McDaniels and DiVincenzo didn’t have a lot of shots, but they made the most of what they got. McDaniels was 4 for 6, 3 for 4 from 3-point range; DiVincenzo was 4 for 8, 3 for 7 from 3.

Edwards quiet to start

Before the season, Edwards said he would motivate himself against lower-level opponents by trying to score as much as he could against them. But he looked disengaged from the opening minutes. He picked up two fouls that cut his first quarter short when he typically plays the entire 12 minutes.

Instead, he played all of the second quarter, but he could never find a rhythm in the flow of the offense in the first half. He went 0 for 5 and didn’t score his first point until the 2 minutes, 49 second mark of the second when he hit a pair of free throws. His first field goal came 47 seconds later. He finished the first half with eight points.

Reid continues his strong play

Reid had a strong first shift against Denver on Saturday, and he carried that over to Monday with 10 points, three rebounds in the first quarter. The he added another nine points in the second, 19 first-half points in all.

Reid has been inconsistent to open the season but over the last few games has looked like his old self. After Friday’s game against Sacramento, Reid said he was trying to focus less on scoring and more on making plays in other areas, thinking the scoring would follow.

“Even when shots are falling, just trying to impact the game in any way, shape or form,” Reid said. “That’s something that I’m really good at. Obviously shots aren’t falling. What else can you bring to the table? What else can you do for the team to get a win. Energy plays, defensively, diving on the floor, rebounding, whatever I can do, I’m going to do it.”

The scoring has followed.

Mavericks hurting

Dallas came into town after a slow start to the season and about a week after the team fired General Manager Nico Harrison, who made the controversial decision to trade Luka Doncic to the Lakers for Anthony Davis.

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