ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES — The Timberwolves starters rolled to a first-half lead before sitting the second half Saturday in a 104-96 victory over the Dallas Mavericks in an NBA preseason game.
Timberwolves beat Mavericks to sweep preseason series in Abu Dhabi
The Wolves got 14 points each from Karl-Anthony Towns and Naz Reid in the exhibition contest.
By NEWS SERVICES
October 7, 2023 at 7:47PM
The Wolves also won Thursday's game against the Mavericks, and will now head home to resume practice in Minneapolis. The regular season opener is Oct. 25 in Toronto.
Karl-Anthony Towns and Naz Reid each scored 14 points for the Wolves, and Anthony Edwards, who missed the first game on Thursday because of an ankle issue, scored 13.
Luka Doncic had 18 points, six assists and five rebounds in 19 minutes for Dallas, which was without Kyrie Irving (left groin), Seth Curry (illness) and Markieff Morris (left ankle).
Jaden Hardy led the Mavericks with 22 points and eight rebounds in a game where the majority of their starters didn't appear in the second half.
The Wolves — riding the strength of a 27-7 run over a 10-minute stretch of the first half — led 53-43 at halftime.
Dallas got within two in the fourth quarter, but a three-pointer by Vit Krejci with two minutes left gave the Wolves some breathing room and 19-year-old rookie Leonard Miller's three-pointer with 1:40 remaining made it 102-93.
The Wolves' next preseason game is against the New York Knicks on Saturday at Madison Square Garden. They have a home preseason game on Oct. 17 against Maccabi Ra'anana.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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The Timberwolves turned on their defense and turned a deficit into a comfortable winning margin over the course of about five crucial minutes.
