Minnesota Timberwolves — Dallas Mavericks 133:94: result and stats

The Minnesota Timberwolves have turned adversity into an identity, and the Dallas Mavericks arrive at Target Center with a teenage scorer playing the best basketball of his young career. Both teams sit in the upper half of the Western Conference, but the contrast in how they have arrived here—Minnesota grinding through the absence of its superstar, Dallas surging behind a rising star and a returning veteran—makes this meeting more than a simple standings check.

Minnesota’s depth faces its toughest backcourt test yet

The Timberwolves are 8-3 and riding a four-game win streak without Anthony Edwards, who is recovering from knee surgery. Ayo Dosunmu has stepped into the starting lineup and formed a fast, potent partnership with LaMelo Ball, averaging better than 18 points on 52% shooting and 47% from three-point range. Rudy Gobert remains the defensive anchor and the team’s leading rebounder. Dallas’s backcourt of Cooper Flagg and Kyrie Irving will test Minnesota’s perimeter defense in a way recent opponents have not, because both can score at all three levels and force help rotations.

Dallas leans on Flagg’s hot hand and a patchwork interior

The Mavericks are 7-4 and have won three straight, with Cooper Flagg coming off a 43-point outburst against Indiana. Kyrie Irving is managing a knee issue but remains a reliable second option, and P.J. Washington provides spacing and frontcourt minutes. The interior is thin: Dereck Lively II is out following foot surgery, Santi Aldama is sidelined with a knee problem, and Tarik Biberovic is unavailable. Daniel Gafford will need to hold up against Gobert and Minnesota’s physical rebounding, or the Mavericks will concede second-chance points in bunches.

A matchup shaped by recent history and home court

The Timberwolves swept all four meetings last season, winning by an average of more than 20 points, including a 124-94 rout in March. That history reflects Minnesota’s ability to disrupt Dallas’s offense with length and pressure, and the Target Center crowd adds another layer. The chances favor a Minnesota win at 65%, with Dallas at 35%, and that assessment has held steady. Dallas has the firepower to keep it close, but the head-to-head pattern and the venue give the home side a clear edge.

The likely rhythm: threes, extra possessions, and a tight finish

Minnesota plays at a modest pace but leads the league in three-point percentage and offensive rebounding, creating extra possessions that offset Edwards’s absence. Dallas is efficient from the field and from beyond the arc but struggles at the free-throw line and on the glass. A combined score around 225 points is the likely range. If the Mavericks can keep the game in the half court, limit turnovers, and let Flagg and Irving create late, they have a path. The more probable outcome is a Minnesota win built on depth, defense, and home-court energy.

Preview prepared from the match data · 12 November