Wolves cruise over short-handed Mavs, 120-96

Naz Reid poured in a season-high 22 points as the Minnesota Timberwolves rolled past the short-handed Dallas Mavericks 120–96 on Monday night.

Reid set the tone early with 10 first-quarter points and led all scorers with 19 by halftime. His final bucket — a 3-pointer near the end of the third quarter — pushed Minnesota’s lead to 32 entering the fourth and capped his standout performance.

Minnesota had six players score in double figures, with all five starters contributing. Jaden McDaniels and Rudy Gobert each added 15 points, while Anthony Edwards had a quieter outing, scoring 13 on 5-of-14 shooting.

Top draft pick Cooper Flagg and Brandon Williams led the Mavericks with 15 points apiece. Dallas, now 1–2 in the second game of back-to-backs this season, was coming off a win over Portland on Sunday.

The Mavericks were missing multiple frontcourt players due to injury management. Daniel Gafford sat out with an ankle issue, Dereck Lively II was held out with a knee problem, and Anthony Davis remained unavailable. Their absences gave rookie Moussa Cissé his first career start.

Dallas kept the game within reach early in the second quarter, trailing by seven, but Minnesota closed the half on a run to take a 61–44 lead at the break.

The Timberwolves maintained control throughout the second half. McDaniels drilled three consecutive 3-pointers in the third quarter to help stretch the lead to 30 at 85–55. Despite the win, Minnesota continued its cold stretch from deep, shooting just 32% (14-for-44), marking its fourth straight game under 33%.

Dallas also struggled from beyond the arc, hitting only 9 of 30 attempts. The Mavericks entered the matchup with the second-worst 3-point percentage in the league at 31.1%.