Timberwolves-Mavericks Preview

By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN
Posted Jan 24 2012 12:38PM

Shawn Marion's recent play is helping the Dallas Mavericks overcome the absence of Dirk Nowitzki.

The Mavericks look to win their fourth straight overall and third in a row without Nowitzki when they host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday, with the night starting with them receiving their championship rings.

Nowitzki has missed the last two games in what has been projected as a four-game stretch to work on his conditioning and allow his sore right knee to improve. Coach Rick Carlisle, however, said that the superstar could be out longer depending on the amount of improvement he demonstrates.

Marion has made it easier for Nowitzki to take his time, averaging 19.3 points over his last four contests. He had season highs of 29 points and four 3-pointers in a 93-87 win over Phoenix on Monday.

"My teammates were looking for me," Marion said. "I've been able to do a lot of different things on the floor."

Ian Mahinmi scored 17 points and fellow reserve Jason Terry added 12 in the Mavericks' seventh straight home victory. Dallas' reserves are averaging a league-high 44.3 points per game.

The Mavericks (11-7) also played their fourth game in a row without reserve Vince Carter, out with a sprained left foot.

Wednesday will be a special night for the Mavericks, who will receive their rings in a pregame ceremony. They raised the championship banner before a season-opening loss to Miami.

The second celebration was planned since J.J. Barea, a key reserve on the championship squad, is returning to Dallas for the first time since signing a four-year contract with Minnesota (7-10) before this season.

Barea, however, is out with a strained left hamstring and is part of a lengthy Timberwolves injury list. Michael Beasley has missed 10 straight games with a sprained right foot while Brad Miller (knee) and Martell Webster (back) have yet to see action.

In addition, starting forward Wesley Johnson missed his first game of the season Monday due to an illness. All of those absences proved too difficult to overcome in a 107-92 home loss to Houston.

"I have three guards and no small forward," coach Rick Adelman said. "We tried to adjust but you're putting people out of position. ... We just didn't have enough answers."

Kevin Love had a season-high 39 points and 12 rebounds while rookie Ricky Rubio handed out 12 assists, but Minnesota suffered its second straight loss.

"It's frustrating," Rubio said. "When you win, no matter how you did, you feel good. When you lost, no matter what you do, you feel bad. That's what it is."

A short-handed Timberwolves team figures to have a difficult time duplicating a 99-82 home victory over Dallas on Jan. 1 when Beasley, Johnson and Barea saw action. Love, who leads the NBA with 16 double-doubles, had 25 points and 17 boards as Adelman earned his first win with Minnesota.

The Mavs fell for only the second time in their last 20 meetings with the Wolves. They have taken 10 of the last 11 home matchups in the series.

Minnesota wins 105-90 after Mavs get title rings

By STEPHEN HAWKINS
Posted Jan 26 2012 12:27AM

DALLAS (AP) The Dallas Mavericks got championship rings. Kevin Love got a big new contract and the victory.

Love had 31 points and 10 rebounds after signing his maximum four-year extension with the Minnesota Timberwolves, who handed the defending NBA champions another ceremonious loss, 105-90 Wednesday night.

"It's a good day, putting aside everything that happened earlier in the day and focusing on the game and getting a big win," said Love, the 23-year-old forward who after the morning shootaround signed the extension worth more than $60 million. "We made big stops down the stretch. You can see us growing as a team."

The end of the Mavericks' seven-game home winning streak, and their franchise-record streak of holding 15 consecutive opponents under 100 points, came after they finally received their championship rings during a pregame ceremony.

That presentation came exactly a month after Dallas raised the championship banner before the season opener. They trailed by 21 points at halftime that day on the way to a 105-94 loss to Miami in an NBA finals rematch that was never really that close.

"I know everybody is making a big thing about the ring tonight, it's a great thing to receive the ring," Shawn Marion said. "We still needed to win this game. That's what we're trying to do right now. We're trying to focus on what's at hand right now and the current season and focus on trying to take our baby steps to get to where we want to be. Tonight we just took a hop back."

Dallas led by 14 points before halftime against the Timberwolves. But Minnesota finished the first half with eight consecutive points in the final minute, then had a 13-4 run in the first 5 minutes of the third quarter for the lead.

The Mavericks managed to tie it at 70 on two free throws by Marion with 3 minutes left in the third quarter. But a minute later, Love's 3-pointer broke that tie and put the Timberwolves ahead to stay.

That was one of four 3-pointers by Love, who also had one at the end of the first half to get the Timberwolves within 54-52.

His big game, along with 17 points and 12 assists from Ricky Rubio in 46 1/2 minutes, ruined another celebratory night in Dallas.

"We did," Love said. "It was fun."

Wayne Ellington had 16 points while Nikola Pekovic had 13 for the Timberwolves, who also beat Dallas 99-82 on New Year's Day.

Jason Terry led Dallas with 17 points, while Marion had 15 points. Brendan Haywood had 10 rebounds.

Before the game, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and coach Rick Carlisle presented the diamond-encrusted championship rings to NBA finals MVP Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd and seven other current players who were on last year's team. Also getting their rings during the ceremony were retired player Peja Stojakovic and J.J. Barea, who now plays for the Timberwolves and part of the reason the ceremony was held when it was.

Barea, who missed his fourth consecutive game for Minnesota because of a sprained left ankle, received a huge ovation when he was the first player introduced by Carlisle. The rest of his Timberwolves teammates had retreated to the locker room before the ring ceremony.

Nowitzki was dressed in a suit during the third of at least four games he's sitting out to improve game conditioning and his sore right knee.

Dallas was up 54-44 when Kidd hit a 3-pointer on a pass from Terry with 1:07 left in the first half.

"The game turned at the end of the first half," Carlisle said. "We lost some concentration. ... Look, we didn't deserve to win, and frankly, after that period at the end of the second quarter, we really didn't compete at any kind of level at all."

Ellington rebounded his own miss and made a layup to start that quick Minnesota surge before halftime. After Kidd missed a 3-pointer, Rubio made one before Love's half-ending trey set up by Terry's only turnover.

"Our guys really came out with attitude that we could win this game," Minnesota coach Rick Adelman said. "The end of the first half was huge. We cut it to two and got back in the game, then had a great second half."

Notes: Love had his 17th double-double in 18 games this season. ... In the second quarter, Terry gathered up a loose ball on the run, then scooped it with his right hand over a defender to Brandan Wright for an alley-oop dunk. The Mavs led 37-31 at the time. ... Vince Carter missed his fifth consecutive game for Dallas with a sprained left foot. ... Dallas hadn't lost at home since starting the season 0-2. The Mavs followed the opening loss to Miami with another loss the next night against Denver. ... Mavs forward Lamar Odom was 2-of-14 shooting, only 1 of 11 at halftime when the rest of the team was a combined 24-of-39 shooting.

Notebook: Wolves 105, Mavs 90

By Dave Ivey, for NBA.com
Posted Wednesday January 25, 2012 11:51PM

THE FACTS: The good news for the Mavericks is that there are no more pregame ceremonies on the schedule. Just as Miami spoiled the banner-raising in the season opener, an undermanned Minnesota squad stole the spotlight after the 2011 NBA champions received their rings Wednesday, beating Dallas 105-90 behind 31 points and 10 rebounds from Kevin Love.

Love enjoyed his own pregame celebration of sorts, signing a four-year extension worth more than $60 million. Ricky Rubio contributed 17 points and 12 assists, Wayne Ellington scored 16 points and Nikola Pekovic added 13 off the bench. Jason Terry scored 17 and Shawn Marion had 15 for the Mavericks, who had their three-game winning streak and seven-game home winning streak snapped.

QUOTABLE: "It was a good day. I wanted to put everything aside that happened off the court and really wanted to focus on the game tonight. We fought back from double digits and came up with big runs and got big stops down the stretch. You can see us growing as a team and we've got to continue to fight."
-- Kevin Love, who recorded his 17th double-double in 18 games.

THE STAT: The Timberwolves halted the Mavericks' franchise-record streak of holding 15 consecutive opponents under 100 points -- and they did it with only nine available players. It was the most points surrendered by Dallas since a 115-93 loss to Denver on Dec. 26. Minnesota shot 42.9 percent (9-for-21) from 3-point range and outscored the Mavericks 28-6 at the free-throw line.

TURNING POINT: Minnesota broke open a 70-70 tie with a 16-3 surge spanning the third and fourth quarters. Love got the run started with one of his four 3-pointers (4-for-6), followed by a three-point play by Ellington and a couple of dunks by Pekovic. The only points mustered by Dallas between the 3:00 mark of the third period and the 9:11 mark of the fourth came on a jumper by Rodrigue Beaubois and a free throw by Brandan Wright. The Mavericks shot 31.1 percent in the second half.

QUOTABLE II: "Minnesota was more aggressive. They had 33 free throw [attempts] to our 10. The more aggressive team is going to win most NBA games."
-- Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle

HOT: All of the Mavericks not named Lamar Odom combined to shoot 61.5 percent (24-for-39) during the first half. Dallas knocked down nine of its first 11 shots in the second quarter and led 46-32 with 7:13 left before intermission.

NOT: Odom, starting for the injured Dirk Nowitzki, was just 1-for-11 from the field in the first half. The reigning NBA Sixth Man of the Year finished 2-for-14, tallying five points, four rebounds, no assists and two turnovers. He did not get off the bench in the fourth quarter.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: Rubio was only 4-for-16 from the field and committed seven turnovers, but the rookie played nearly the entire game (46:27) as Minnesota's only available point guard and added seven rebounds and four steals to his double-double performance. ... Beaubois finished with 11 points, five assists, three blocks (including one against Love) and three boards. Jason Kidd had eight points, eight rebounds and seven assists.

NOTABLE: Injured Minnesota guard J.J. Barea and retired sharpshooter Peja Stojakovic, who helped the Mavericks win the franchise's first title, also received their rings. So did former Dallas greats Brad Davis, Rolando Blackman and Derek Harper. The pregame ceremony included playoff highlights on the video screen and a speech by owner Mark Cuban. ... Minnesota guard Luke Ridnour was a game-time scratch with a sore knee. ... Dallas lost for the first time when leading or tied at halftime (1-11). The Mavs were up 54-52 at the break. ... Minnesota center Darko Milicic matched his career high with seven blocks.

UP NEXT: For the Mavericks, Friday vs. Utah, Sunday vs. San Antonio, Monday @ Phoenix. For the Timberwolves, Friday vs. San Antonio, Sunday vs. L.A. Lakers, Monday @ Houston.

• Timberwolves: Miller, Webster
• Mavericks: Carter, Williams

• Timberwolves: --
• Mavericks: --

• Lead Changes: 7
• Times Tied: 7

• Arena: American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX
• Officials: #9 Derrick Stafford, #31 Scott Wall, #29 Mark Lindsay
• Attendance: 20150
• Duration: 2:04