For the Minnesota Timberwolves, the sting is still fresh from the last time they played against the Dallas Mavericks.
The Mavericks finished off a 4-1 series win over the Timberwolves in the best-of-seven Western Conference finals on May 30. Dallas advanced to the NBA Finals, where it eventually lost against the Boston Celtics, while the Timberwolves’ breakout season came to a sudden end.
The teams will meet again Tuesday night when the Timberwolves tip off against the Mavericks in Minneapolis.
“We’re looking forward to it,” Timberwolves guard Mike Conley said. “We understand the last time we saw them how we felt. You don’t want anybody celebrating on your home court. That’s our last memory, so we’ll be ready.”
Minnesota coach Chris Finch agreed. He said the early-season rematch not only rekindled old feelings but also provided a measuring stick for how the Timberwolves stack up in 2024-25.
“Yeah, of course (we’re) looking forward to it,” Finch said. “Get tested right away early in the season against a great team. It’s what you want. …
“They deserved to win that series. They outplayed us. But much of that series was up for grabs. We were well equipped to do things last year and we didn’t shoot particularly well. This is a new team, new season, so we’ll see.”
Dallas will play on short rest after holding on for a 110-102 home win against the Utah Jazz on Monday night. Kyrie Irving led the Mavericks with 23 points and nine assists, and Klay Thompson provided 18 points on 7-for-15 shooting.
Luka Doncic tallied 15 points, nine rebounds and eight assists but had an uncharacteristically tough night from the field. He shot 5 of 22 overall and 1 of 9 from beyond the arc.
“He’s human and we saw that tonight,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. “But I thought he really leaned on his teammates to be able to create plays and wide-open looks.”
The Mavericks prevailed anyway for their second win in their first three games.
Like Dallas, the Timberwolves are looking for their third win in four games to start the season. Minnesota dropped its opener against the Los Angeles Lakers and responded with back-to-back victories against the Sacramento Kings and Toronto Raptors.
Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards is averaging 27.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists. Julius Randle is contributing 24.3 points and 7.7 rebounds per contest, and Naz Reid is third in scoring with 13.7 points to go along with seven rebounds per contest.
Doncic leads Dallas with 27.7 points, 9.7 rebounds and 6.7 assists through three games. The 25-year-old has faced the Timberwolves in 15 regular-season games in his career, and he has averaged 24.8 points, 7.7 rebounds and 7.4 assists in those matchups. In the playoff series last spring, he was even better: 32.4 points, 9.6 boards and 8.2 assists.
Mavericks big man Maxi Kleber is expected to miss his second straight game on Tuesday against Minnesota. Kleber sat out Monday’s contest against the Jazz after he strained his right hamstring in Dallas’ loss to the Phoenix Suns on Saturday.
Kidd said Kleber’s injury did not appear to be severe.
“Not long term,” Kidd said. “… We’ll see how everything turns out here in the next couple days and give a timeline.”
