Brand's 20 off bench lead Mavericks to 113-98 win over Timberwolves
By Art Garcia, The Sports Xchange
DALLAS -- The Mavericks and Timberwolves both have losing records, but they're going in opposite directions. Dallas has won three straight after Monday night's 113-98 pasting at American Airlines Center that sent Minnesota to its fourth loss in a row.
Elton Brand scored a season-high 20 points off the bench for the Mavericks, who improved to 16-23 and are in the midst of their longest winning streak since early December. The Dallas backcourt of O.J. Mayo and Darren Collison combined for 43 points.
"Elton played great," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. "He's shooting well and he's rebounding well. He's giving us a physical presence from the inside and that's what we need from him."
The Mavericks never trailed and broke the game open in the third quarter, outscoring the Wolves 36-25. Minnesota (16-19) hasn't been competitive during its skid. The four setbacks, all on the road, have been by an average of 16.8 points.
"We didn't do a good job finding balance offensively," Timberwolves acting coach Terry Porter said. "They got into the break and they really attacked us at the rim early like we thought they would. We did a good job fighting back at the end, but we just ran out of gas."
The Timberwolves had won two previous contests with Dallas this season and four of the last five, but the Mavericks proved unstoppable this time out. Brand made 10 of 13 from the floor, leading a 59.7 percent shooting barrage. Dallas had a season-high 33 assists on 46 baskets and turned the ball over only nine times.
"Our tempo was good, we kept the ball moving," Carlisle said. "Thirty-three assists is a really good number."
Minnesota dominated on the boards despite being with Kevin Love, but was held to 41.2 percent shooting. Nikola Pekovic paced the visitors with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Former Dallas guard J.J. Barea scored 17 points in a reserve role.
What was a manageable game at halftime quickly got away from Minnesota in the third quarter. A step-back jumper from Dirk Nowitzki (10 points) early in the period built Dallas' lead to 15. Jae Crowder's breakaway layup late in the period stretched it to 23.
Brand had the hot hand throughout the first half, knocking down 7 of 8 shots as Dallas took a 55-45 lead into the locker room. Collison added 10 points, and the Mavericks were shooting 57.5 percent at the break.
The Wolves, down by as much as 11 points in the first quarter, closed to within a possession in the second behind Barea. The former Maverick was a familiar pest at both ends of the court, but a late push by Brand helped Dallas get lead back up to double figures by halftime.
"It was a good start for me," Brand said. "We had six or seven guys in double figures. We were spreading the ball around and getting assists tonight. We played great. It was just one of those nights. You're not going to shoot 60 percent every night but we're happy to have it tonight."
The Mavericks continue their four-game homestand with the third outing Wednesday against Houston. Minnesota returns home to face the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday.
"We just have to forget about this road trip and we got a two-game homestand," Porter said. "Hopefully, we can get some home cooking."
NOTES: Barea made it back-to-back games in the lineup for Minnesota after missing two games with back spasms. Barea, a member of the Mavericks' 2011 championship team, was playing at American Airlines Center for the first time since signing with the Timberwolves before 2011-12. Barea had missed each of the previous games in Dallas with injuries. ... Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman missed his fifth consecutive game to be with his wife, who is hospitalized with an undisclosed illness. Assistant coach Terry Porter is the acting head coach. ... The Mavericks came into the back off two straight victories, their longest winning streak since early December. "I'm not under any false presumptions that we've got it figured out," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "That's not how this year is going to be. Every game is going to be challenging and we've got to really stick to it."
