It’s been a long and frustrating two weeks for the Timberwolves, capped off by their fifth straight loss Saturday night, a 131-117 defeat at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks.
Monta Ellis scored 30 points – a season high – for Dallas, and seven other Mavericks scored in double figures in the victory, according to the Associated Press.
The 131 points was a season high for Dallas, and came just two nights after they set a club record with a 53-point win over Philadelphia.
Minnesota, on the other hand, came into the game after their worst loss in franchise history – a 48-point defeat at the hands of the New Orleans Pelicans.
Kevin Martin scored a season-high 34 points to keep Minnesota within striking range for a while. Shabazz Muhammad scored 18 as the Timberwolves shot 50 percent for the first time this season.
The Mavericks pulled away in the second quarter as the Wolves went cold, and at one point in the third quarter they led by 26, the Star Tribune reports.
“A better effort, considering the circumstances with the road trip,” Wolves coach Flip Saunders said, according to the AP. “We fell behind. We could have rolled over no question with what happened last night. Our guys fought back and we found some guys that went out and played with a little energy.”
Dallas leads the league in scoring, and the Wolves struggled to keep pace without starters Ricky Rubio and Thaddeus Young, according to the Star Tribune.
Rubio is out indefinitely with a sprained left ankle, and Young is away from the team after his mother died.
The Timberwolves get a few days off before they begin a home stand with a game against New York on Wednesday.
