Dallas Mavericks

Wolves wilt in loss to dominant Mavericks

Published Feb. 28, 2016 9:36 p.m. ET

foxsports

DALLAS --Owner Mark Cuban believes boos from the home crowd during a bad start in the last game for the Dallas Mavericks probably got the attention of his team.

Maybe so.

Chandler Parsons scored 29 points as the Mavericks started fast after a woeful opening half two nights earlier and rolled to a 128-101 victory against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday night.

"This was a mature win for us," said Parsons, who scored 13 straight Dallas points over the second and third quarters to help restore a 20-point lead built in the first 11 minutes of a sixth straight victory against Minnesota. "Obviously we haven't been perfect and we've had some inconsistencies, but we are sticking together."

Two nights after scoring 27 points to help Dallas rally from 23 down in the second quarter of an overtime victory against Denver, Parsons was 10 of 15 from the field, made four of seven from 3-point range and hit all five of his free throws.

"We went to him a lot and he delivered," coach Rick Carlisle said. "He played a really smart game."

Shabazz Muhammad scored 24 points to lead the Timberwolves, who used nine players and dropped to 1-10 on the second night of a back-to-back after rallying for a win at New Orleans.

"We get tomorrow off, but we just look like a tired basketball team," interim Minnesota coach Sam Mitchell said. "You could see it in their eyes."

Dirk Nowitzki and Parsons sparked the quick start, both scoring 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting, including 2 of 3 from 3-point range, in the first quarter. The Mavericks went up 39-19 on Nowitzki's layup for his last points of the game with 1:15 left in the first quarter.

The 7-foot German left early in the third quarter with his fourth foul, and the Mavericks were up by 26 points when he finally came back late in the quarter. Apparently realizing they could rest the 37-year-old, the Dallas coaches pulled him again 24 seconds after he returned.

With Nowitzki and all but one starter for both teams sitting the entire fourth quarter, Dallas' lead reached 31 as Parsons had to settle for finishing two points shy of his season high while getting six rebounds and four assists.

Wesley Matthews scored 15 points, and backcourt mate Deron Williams had 10 points and nine of the Mavericks' season-high 34 assists. Dallas had its largest margin of victory a week after beating Philadelphia by 26.

"We've been emphasizing getting off to some better offensive starts, and us five collectively had to make a decision to get us going in the first and third quarter," Parsons said. "We've been straggling a bit there with our spacing."

Muhammad scored 11 points in the second quarter and the Timberwolves got as close as seven before the Mavericks pushed their lead back to 65-54 at halftime when Parsons hit a pullup jumper over Karl-Anthony Towns from just inside the arc.

Andrew Wiggins scored 15 points, and Towns had 12 points and 11 rebounds a night after getting 30 and 15. Zach LaVine, the only starter for either team to play in the fourth quarter, had 10 points on 3-of-14 shooting with nine rebounds after scoring 25 against the Pelicans.

Newly elected baseball Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. and former Texas Rangers star Michael Young both had front-row seats. Both got loud ovations when they were shown on the video board during a timeout.

The Timberwolves shot 38 percent after three straight games of at least 50 percent shooting -- the second time they've had a streak that long in February. "We all pretty much felt like we had the energy to do it," Towns said. "Sometimes you don't realize how much your body has taken a toll until it's actually going through something rigorous again."

Timberwolves: The Timberwolves won for the 17th time in franchise history at New Orleans when trailing by at least 10 points in the fourth quarter. Their record is 17-562 in such games. . . . Ricky Rubio had 14 points and five assists. . . . Towns had the 34th double-double, tops among NBA rookies.

Mavericks: Dallas shot 64 percent in the first quarter with 13 assists on 16 baskets. . . . The Mavericks have played a league-high 10 overtime games coming off a stretch of four in six games. That included a franchise-record three straight. Dallas is 7-3.

Timberwolves: Host Washington on Wednesday.

Mavericks: Host Orlando on Tuesday.