Timberwolves visit Washington

Washington went into the All-Star break on a sour note on Wednesday, as it dropped a 103-97 decision to the Dallas Mavericks at the AmericanAirlines Center.

Caron Butler led all scorers with 27 points and also hauled down 11 rebounds for the Wizards, who had won five in a row prior to their current slide. Antawn Jamison also posted a double-double with 24 points and 11 boards, while, Gilbert Arenas was limited to just 12 points on 4-of-22 shooting.

Arenas finished second over the weekend to Dallas’ Dirk Nowitzki in the Three- Point Shootout as part of the All-Star Saturday Night festivities, then netted one point in just under 10 minutes in the Eastern Conference’s 122-120 win over the West in Sunday’s All-Star Game.

Washington, which will visit LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday, is 18-9 in its arena this season.

Minnesota, meanwhile, comes in on a winning note after Ricky Davis netted 25 points and dished out five assists to lead the Timberwolves past the Seattle SuperSonics, 102-92, on Wednesday at the Target Center.

Kevin Garnett added 23 points and 15 rebounds, while Trenton Hassell donated 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting for Minnesota, which snapped a four-game losing streak.

Garnett finished with two points and nine rebounds in Sunday’s All-Star game.

The Timberwolves, who will start a two-game homestand against Denver on Friday, are 8-17 away from home this season.

Minnesota defeated the Wizards earlier in the season and has won eight of nine and nine of the last 11 meetings. The Timberwolves, though, have dropped six of nine in Washington.