Kyrie Irving’s box score contained one conspicuous blank: 0-0 at the free-throw line. On a night when Dallas needed its veteran guard to steady a cold offense, that empty column became part of the story.
Irving scored 10 points on 4-of-11 shooting, making 2 of 6 3-pointers, as the Mavericks lost 133-94 to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday at Target Center. Dallas made 35 of 94 shots and finished 13 of 48 from beyond the arc. The Mavericks also attempted only 14 free throws as a team, converting 11.
On a poor shooting night, they had little free-throw scoring to soften the damage.
Minnesota supplied a sharp comparison. LaMelo Ball scored 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting, made 6 of 10 3-pointers and added nine assists. Bones Hyland came off the bench for 24 points, shooting 7 of 10 overall, 5 of 6 from deep and 5 of 6 on free throws. Dallas’ veteran scorer had no such avenue when his jumper was not falling.
Irving did find the basket early. He scored on layups at 10:55 and 6:25 of the first quarter, then hit a 24-foot 3-pointer with 1:47 left in the second. His final field goal came on a 25-foot 3 in the third quarter.
Those moments kept him involved, but they never became sustained pressure. Without free throws, his 10 points arrived entirely through field goals, and Minnesota could live with the result.
Ball kept stretching the floor from there. He made two 24-foot 3-pointers in the first quarter, followed by a 25-foot step-back and a 27-foot step-back in the second. Dallas trailed 67-52 at halftime.
After Cooper Flagg opened the third quarter with a free throw at 11:39, Ball answered at 11:17 with a 31-foot 3-pointer, making the score 70-53. The sequence was brief, but it captured the difference in offensive force: Dallas needed a restart, while Minnesota had another long-range answer ready.
Hyland created a different headache. His first-quarter work included a 29-foot 3-pointer and a 24-foot step-back 3. He added a 25-foot 3 in the second quarter, then made two free throws at 1:34 of the third and added a driving layup later in that period.
His 24 points came with 5 of 6 shooting from deep and 5 of 6 at the line. Minnesota did not need one star to carry every possession; it received a high-efficiency burst from a reserve while its other guards kept Dallas moving backward.
The Mavericks’ offensive burden was especially stark beside Flagg’s night. Coming off a 43-point performance Monday, Flagg scored 12 on 5-of-12 shooting with seven rebounds and three assists. Irving and Flagg combined for 22 points, the same total produced by Zaccharie Risacher.
