Anthony Edwards condemned the Dallas Mavericks to their 10th consecutive loss, their worst decline since 1998, but he scored 40 points in an ultimately convincing victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday.
Edwards, who just won the MVP award at last weekend’s All-Star Game in Los Angeles, also grabbed 6 rebounds, while Rudy Gobert had a double-double with 22 points and 17 rebounds.
advertise
Trailing by 18 points in the second quarter, the poor Mavericks almost completed an incredible comeback.
Dallas showed resilience and tied the game at 103-103 with less than seven minutes left, but Edwards once again took the game away from them, 122-111.
“We’re proud to win key games,” Edwards said. “We struggled with that last year.”
“We started out aggressive but in the end we were flat and they found their chance.
“Basketball is a running game and they played it really hard. Shout out to these guys.”
Edwards’ fourteen points came in the final quarter. For the Wolves, it was their eighth win in 11 games and ranked fifth in the Western Conference.
advertise
For Dallas, the tenth straight loss left the Mavericks in 12th place in the Western Conference and out of the playoff picture. Their rookie phenom Cooper Flagg did not play with a foot injury.
Elsewhere, the Oklahoma City Thunder cemented their lead at the top of the Western Conference with a 105-86 victory over the lowly Brooklyn Nets after the NBA All-Star break.
The Thunder have not played since last Thursday and are still without reigning NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and star guard Jalen Williams with abdominal strains.
But the defending champions have the league’s best defense and have shown depth, with half of their points coming off the bench.
advertise
Jared McCain, acquired from the Philadelphia 76ers earlier this month, scored 21 points and praised the Thunder’s “chemistry.”
“I came in just trying to learn defensive principles … there’s a reason they’re so good at it,” he said.
-Los Angeles Derby-
The Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Charlotte Hornets 118-113 to win their seventh game.
It continues its league-best winning streak since signing former MVP James Harden earlier this month.
Harden, the NBA veteran known as “The Bearded”, scored 18 points on Friday but was overshadowed by Donovan Mitchell’s 32 points and Jarrett Allen’s 26 points to go with 14 rebounds.
advertise
The Los Angeles Lakers defeated their local rivals, the Clippers, 125-122 in a nail-biting derby late Friday.
Luka Doncic scored 38 points, 6 rebounds and 11 assists, and LeBron James also had 13 points and 11 assists.
Nikola Jokic scored 32 points and the Denver Nuggets defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 157-103.
The 54-point lead was the second-largest victory in Nuggets history.
Amz/Ane
