On December 15, Beijing time, the NBA regular season continued, and the Timberwolves defeated the Mavericks 116-101 on the road, and the team avoided consecutive defeats, and they also completed a 15-point comeback and secured the first place in the West. In this game, Towns had 21 points and 17 rebounds, Reed had 27 points and 6 rebounds, Gobert had 8 points and 12 rebounds, and Edwards had 9 points and 11 assists. On the Mavericks' side, Doncic scored 39 points, 6 rebounds and 13 assists, scoring 30+ points in 9 consecutive games, and his 35+ times (78) in the Mavericks have tied No. 1 in team history, but unfortunately the team was not able to win on the milestone night. 
In the first quarter of the game, the Mavericks were in excellent shape, especially Doncic, who quickly entered his own rhythm, with outside three-pointers, mid-range shots, and 2+1 after breaking through with the ball, everything, and he scored 16 points, 2 rebounds and 4 assists in a single quarter, helping the team lead by 15 points at most. However, at the end of the quarter, the Timberwolves recovered, relying on the strong play of the second team, and the team closed the gap to four points before the end of the first quarter. 
In the second quarter, the two teams began to attack each other on the offensive end, with Reed and Walker who came off the bench combined for 20 points in a single quarter, Towns also had 6 points and 4 rebounds, and the Timberwolves scored 33 points in a single quarter. On the Mavericks' side, Doncic scored 10 points and 4 assists in 3 of 5, and delivered 26 points and 8 assists in the first half, Exum also scored 7 points, and the Mavericks scored 30 points in a single quarter. At the end of the first half, the Timberwolves closed the gap to one point. 
The Timberwolves were very strong on the defensive end, limiting Doncic's play and severing the connection between him and his teammates, allowing the Mavericks to score only 22 points in a single quarter. On the offensive end, the team relied on the advantage of the Twin Towers on the inside, and Edwards was also able to add icing on the cake on the outside, with the team scoring 28 points in a single quarter. At the end of the first three quarters, the Timberwolves had already surpassed by 5 points, and the team gradually took the initiative. 
In the final quarter, the Timberwolves didn't give the Mavericks a chance, and the team exploded on a 12-4 offensive run to build a 13-point lead. In the last three minutes, Conley hit an outside three-pointer, Towns hit a basket and then hit a layup, and then he hit an outside three-pointer, the Timberwolves launched a 9-2 offensive wave to take a 19-point lead, and the Mavericks had nothing to do about three consecutive timeouts, and the team could only shoot and concede. In the end, the Timberwolves completed a 15-point comeback on the road and continued to sit in first place in the West with an 18-5 record. 
The Timberwolves deserve to be No. 1 in the West, and they can still play this game back when they are down by up to 15 points, the team is different from the opponents who have often been reversed, they can also complete the reversal through their own performance on the defensive end when they are behind, and after taking the lead, they will not play randomly, and the team's offensive and defensive tactical system is very solid. After a long period of formation, the Timberwolves are now in the strongest stage in team history, they have been in the first place in the West for several weeks, and in the latest power rankings, they are also ranked first in the league, and the Timberwolves are about to make a difference this season. List of high-quality authors