The Wolves led 74-69 after 3. And, so it would be decided in the 4th quarter and who thought the Mavs, with NBA playoff MVP Dirk Nowitzki, would be denied?
Well, Ricky Rubio scored the 1st 5 points of the 4th on a finger roll and a 3, and soon the Wolves were up 80-69. The Mavs roared back within 84-82 when Kevin Love made a pair of 3s, Tolliver a 3, Love a dunk and Tolliver another 3 and suddenly it was all over at 98-82 with 2:02 to go. Oh, and Rubio assisted on 4 of the 5 buckets.
It was without a doubt the best 3:30 of basketball that T-Wolves fans have seen at the Target Center in 7-and-a-half years, courtesy of Tolliver, Love, Beasley, Ridnour and Rubio...and coach Rick Adelman. Not only did the Wolves score on 5 straight possessions with the game on the line, the Mavs failed to score a single point in the final 5:35.
Love finished with his usual 25 and 17. Nowitzki finished at 21 and 4. Rubio was next (on either team) with 14 points and led all players with 7 assists.
They Also Ran
Earlier in the day, the Minnesota Gophers played their 2nd strong Big 10 game but dropped to 0-2, falling at #18-rated Michigan 61-56. Freshman guard Trey Burke scored 27 to lead the Wolverines to their 7th straight win. The Gophers had 2 chances to tie or lead inside of 1 minute, but 3-pointers by Maverick Ahanmisi and Rodney Williams were off the mark.
Player of the Day
Ricky Rubio, T-Wolves guard, with 5 points and 5 assists in the 4th quarter in which the Wolves dominated the defending world champion Dallas Mavericks 25-13.
Coach of the Day
Rick Adelman, Minnesota Timberwolves.
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