On December 15, Beijing time, the NBA regular season staged a key matchup between Western Conference teams, and the Timberwolves challenged the Mavericks away. The Timberwolves fielded a lineup of Conley, Gobert, Edwards, Towns and McDaniels, while the Mavericks fielded Doncic, Exum, Lively, Williams and Jones Jr.
At the beginning of the first quarter, the Mavericks showed a hot form, Williams hit a three-pointer first, and Lively also completed a breakthrough dunk. Doncic was on fire, scoring inside and assisting his teammates, and hit two consecutive three-pointers from the outside, contributing 16 points and four assists in a single quarter, leading the team to a 17-2 mini-high. Timberwolves veteran Conley scored four straight points, Edwards and Towns also scored under the basket, and Walker hit solid three-pointers from the outside. The Timberwolves responded with a 12-2 run to close the gap. Jones Jr. hit a three-pointer from the outside, Reed on the Timberwolves bench hit two three-pointers in a row, and Lee Kyle broke through and scored on a hook shot. At the end of the first quarter, the Timberwolves trailed the Mavericks by four points, 26-30.
At the start of the second quarter, Exum and Gobert fouled each other inside. The Mavericks' Morris, Hardy and Exum scored from mid-range and on breakaways. After the Mavericks' Hardy and Exum scored on layups, Conley led the team on a counterattack, hitting two three-pointers in a row. Reed exploded again, hitting three three-pointers in a row to score 13 points to tie the score. In the last period, the two teams fought fiercely, and the score was tightly bitten. The Mavericks ended the half with a one-point lead over the Timberwolves at 60-59.
At the beginning of the second half, the Mavericks' Exum hit a decisive three-pointer from the outside, and the Timberwolves' McDaniels responded with a backhand layup after breaking through. Towns scored six straight points and Conley made a kill and made two free throws to regain the lead. At the critical moment, Doncic used the rhythm to hit the interior successfully, and then assisted Lively and Hardaway Jr. to score. McDaniels scored four more points, Walker followed up with a three-pointer and Gobert scored on a layup. At the end of the third quarter, the Timberwolves led the Mavericks by five points, 87-82.
At the beginning of the final quarter, the Timberwolves' Lee Kyle scored on a breakaway shot, and Doncic hit a jumper after retreating. Then Timberwolves' Brown hit a three-pointer from the outside, and Lee Kyle scored again. Gobert added a dunk and Reed scored five straight points. Doncic scored on an inside shot, and Lively scored back-to-back air cuts, but the Timberwolves blossomed more. In the end, the Timberwolves won 119-101 over the Mavericks!
In this game, for the Timberwolves, Towns performed well, scoring 21 points, 17 rebounds and 2 assists on 8-of-14 shooting. Conley contributed 14 points, two rebounds and three assists. McDaniels had 11 points, two rebounds and one assist. Edwards had nine points, two rebounds and 11 assists and two steals. Reed had a great performance, finishing with 27 points, six rebounds and three assists. Kyle Lee contributed six points, two rebounds and two assists, as well as two steals and one block.
For the Mavericks, Doncic had an efficient 39 points, six rebounds, 13 assists and two steals. Lively contributed 15 points, six rebounds, one steal and two blocks. Exum had 14 points, four rebounds and four assists. Hardaway contributed 10 points and four rebounds.