Tony Gutierrez / AP Photo

The Dallas Mavericks won a hard fought battle against the last place in the West Minnesota Timberwolves. The Mavs leading scorer was Monta Ellis with 23 points, Dirk Nowitzki added 16 on 7-10 shooting and Chandler Parsons scored 18. The Mavericks are now 33-17 on are currently on a 3 game winning streak.

 

The return of Ricky Rubio and Chandler Parsons

While Parsons has only missed a couple of games his return was anticipated to see if he could continue shooting as well as he did before his illness. Thankfully, he did not miss a beat as he shot 8-12 with 18 points 6 rebounds and 2 made three pointers out of 4 attempts.

Much of the same can be said about Ricky Rubio. While he is not a huge stat guy and only played 21 minutes he still showcased some flashy passes and scored 10 points.

 

Keys to the Game:

 

The Hustler- Al Farouq Aminu

So far this year Al Farouq Aminu has been the epitome of be ready when your number is called. His playing time has been inconsistent but when he is in he leaves it all on the floor. While he may not put up stats that can always be seen on paper it is his defense and rebounding that really stands out. Whether it be emphatic block tipping passes or just simply blocking out Aminu is a defensive spark when he comes off the bench.

 

Defense

The Mavs once again jumped out to a huge lead but thankfully they really stepped up on defense in the fourth quarter. The combination of Aminu and Chandler Parsons limited the phenom rookie Andrew Wiggins to 4-14 shooting and only 14 points. Overall as a team the Timberwolves only shot 41.5% from the field and 23.1% from the three point line.

 

More Point Guard Troubles

With Rajon Rondo out indefinitely with injuries to his face from Richard Jefferson it was supposed to be up to Devin Harris, J.J. Barea and the occasional Raymond Felton to step up during his absence. While they played decent today towards the end of the fourth quarter the Timberwolves near 300 pound center Nikola Pekovic rolled over on Devin Harris’s ankle. While the status of Harris is currently unknown it really did not look good.

This game really was a must win as the Dallas Mavericks, because their schedule really stiffens up next with the Warriors, Trail Blazers, Clippers, Thunder, and the Rockets on the schedule within the next couple of weeks.

 

Photo Credit: Tony Gutierrez / AP Photo