Mavericks praise Minnesota's Rubio

Mavericks praise Minnesota's Rubio

Published Jan. 25, 2012 11:36 p.m. ET

Ricky Rubio came off the bench and played about 26 minutes when the Minnesota Timbewolves beat the Mavericks, 99-82, earlier this month. That amount of time is about what is expected from someone in their fourth NBA game.

Wednesday night saw another Mavs loss at the hands of the Timberwolves, only this time the rookie point guard, who was starting his eighth consecutive game, was much more significant.

The 21-year-old from Spain played over 46 minutes, helping to ruin a night that was supposed to be about the Mavericks celebrating their 2011 championship with a pregame ring ceremony.

Rubio netted 17 to go along with 12 assists, seven rebounds and four steals.

"Rubio was out there just picking us apart," Mavs forward Shawn Marion said. "He did a good job of it. He played the whole game, too."

Midway through the second quarter it was obvious that the fifth overall pick of the 2009 draft was on his way to a big night. At that point, he had six assists and could've had about four more if his teammates would've knocked down some very good looks.

"He's really clever with the ball," Dallas center Ian Mahinmi said. "He knows how to find people. He's one of those guys that's a true point guard. Every time you do a little mistake, they punish you."

That cleverness, size and athletic ability has brought excitement to a franchise that hasn't done much winning over the last seven seasons. Minnesota hasn't reached the postseason since Kevin Garnett wore the Wolves jersey in 2004.

While in a media-crammed home locker room Wednesday night, there was no one better to analyze the young point guard than one of the best to ever play the position -- Jason Kidd.

"He's steady," the Mavericks point guard said of Rubio. "He controlled the game, not scoring but looking for his teammates. ... He's very creative. He knows who to find through their schemes and his future's very bright."

There was a time when it appeared as if Rubio would never play for the team that drafted him. He played the previous two seasons with a professional club in Spain which had him under a contract that included a $6 million buyout. However, it was announced last June that he would be joining Minnesota for the 2011-2012 campaign.

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Follow Jon Machota on Twitter: @jonmachota

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