Timberwolves shut down Mavericks, 91-78

Minneapolis, MN (Basketball News) - Kevin Garnett notched a double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds, Marko Jaric tallied 22 points, and Minnesota used a decisive second half to beat Dallas 91-78 at the Target Center.

Wally Szczerbiak contributed 20 points and Trenton Hassell donated 14 for Minnesota, which snapped a two-game losing streak.

Dirk Nowitzki led the Mavericks with 23 points and grabbed seven rebounds, while Marquis Daniels scored 16 points and Josh Howard added 14 points and seven boards in the loss.

Erick Dampier grabbed 10 rebounds to go along with eight points for Dallas, which had its two-game winning streak halted.

Down 41-38 at the half, Minnesota kept up its defensive intensity and finally got some shots to drop in the third quarter.

A 7-2 spurt to start the period was a sign of things to come, as the Timberwolves scored seven straight points later in the period to take a 59-51 lead. Four different Minnesota players scored during the run, and Hassell’s slam with 4:32 remaining in the quarter opened the eight-point edge.

The Timberwolves led 69-60 after three quarters, outscoring Dallas 31-19 in the stanza.

The lead quickly ballooned to 16 on the heels of a 9-2 spurt to begin the final period. Jaric had the final four points of the stretch, with his running layup opening a 78-62 lead with 8:28 left on the clock.

Dallas trimmed the deficit to 82-72 on Dampier’s tip-in with 4:12 to play, but Minnesota scored the next five points to put the game away.

A methodical opening quarter ended with the Timberwolves holding a slight 18-17 advantage. Nowitzki had eight points for the period, while Eddie Griffin had seven first-quarter boards for Minnesota.

Neither team led by more than five points in the first half, with Dallas taking a 41-38 edge into the locker room. Nowitzki, Howard and Daniels combined for 37 of Dallas’ 41 points, while Szczerbiak paced Minnesota with 12 points.

Game Notes

Dallas is 11-5 on the road this season...Minnesota is 10-6 at home...Dallas made just 37.2 percent of its shots, including a 2-of-11 effort from three- point range...Minnesota made 24-of-29 from the charity stripe...The Mavericks have still won three of the last five meetings...Only six players scored for Minnesota.