TWolves Hold Mavs to 13 4th Quarter Points; Down Defending Champs 99-82

The Timberwolves held the Mavericks to 13 points in the fourth quarter of tonight's game and cruised to an 99-82 victory vs. Dallas.  A 10-0 run by the Mavericks in the fourth quarter--put the score at 84-82 (MIN up 2).  A Kevin Love three ended that run with 4:45 left in the game.  That three sparked a 15-0 run that had the Wolves racing to the finish.

That run was ignited by Ricky Rubio, Anthony Tolliver & Kevin Love who each hit at least one three in that run and the Target Center got a bit more of Ricky's "Wizardry of Passing" :).  As the final minutes ticked down, the near-sellout Target Center crowd rose to their feat as they witnessed the Wolves' first win in their past 18 games!  Ending that nasty 18-game losing streak!

This young upstart Wolves team made those defending champs look VERY old.  That final quarter was just brutal for Dallas and the TWolves have finally shown they CAN indeed close out a game.  A fun game to watch, great to FINALLY get a win that can stop that "skid".

Let's take a look at some statistics for each team tonight...

---

Minnesota

36-85 (42%)
10-22 (46%)
17-24 (71%)
54
15
7
3
17
4
32
17 (21)
99

FG
3PT
FT
REBS
AST
STL
BLK
FLS
Fast Break PTS
PTS in the Paint
Team TOs (PTS off)
PTS

Dallas

29-77 (38%)
7-24 (29%)
17-21 (81%)
35
17
11
9
22
24
32
17 (23)
82

The Timberwolves shot a solid percentage from the field and from deep.  They also boasted a +19 on the boards, just dominating the defending champs on the glass!  The Wolves did a "better" job of regulating turnovers--down nine from the game vs. Miami.  They still turned the ball over 17 times, but they also forced 17 Maverick turnovers, scoring 23 points off of those!  

Let's take a look at some individual statics for some key players tonight...

Minnesota

Kevin Love: 25pts, 17rebs, 1ast, 1stl, 1blk, 1to, 1fl
9-16 FG, 5-6 3PT, 2-2 FT, in 38 min.

Ricky Rubio: 14pts, 3rebs, 7ast, 4tos, 2fls
4-8 FG, 2-3 3PT, 4-4 FT, in 26 min. off bench

Anthony Tolliver: 13pts, 6rebs, 1to, 3fls
5-8 FG, 3-5 3PT, in 26 min. off bench

Luke Ridnour: 11pts, 2rebs, 3ast, 1stl, 2to, 2fls
5-9 FG, 0-3 3PT, 1-1 FT, in 29 min.

Dallas

Dirk Nowitzki: 21pts, 4rebs, 1stl, 2fls
9-20 FG, 2-3 3PT, 1-1 FT, in 32 min.

Delonte West: 13pts, 2ast, 2tos, 1fl
6-9 FG, 0-1 3PT, 1-1 FT, in 23 min.

Kevin Love delivered, yet another, great game!  He hit 5-of-6 from three-point range (all of which came in the second half!).  Grabbing rebounds, scoring at will and he got his turnovers down from previous games.  Ricky Rubio came off the pine and had another great game.  He was a HUGE part of that big run that closed the game, hitting shots and dishing superb assists!  Tolliver showed why he's a huge asset to this team.  He had 13 points, but played some solid defense against the likes of Shawn Marion & Dirk Nowitzki!

Dirk struggled early in the game, but a 10-point third quarter really got him going and kept the Mavs in the game.  However, he just didn't have any help from his starters OR from the bench!

It was a GREAT way to ring in the New Year for the Timberwolves--truly a fresh start for these Minnesota Timberwolves, now 1-0 in the New Year (and of course 1-3 this season).  That's all for now, stay tuned to WeeblyWolves for some pictures from tonight's game as well as a gameday preview of tomorrow's game vs. the San Antonio Spurs!  Thanks for reading and as always GO WOLVES!