Kevin Love roars as Minnesota Timberwolves rout Dallas Mavericks 105-90 - NBA Recap
The Minnesota Timberwolves offered their star forward Kevin Love a four years $60 million extension contract for a reason. He is an emerging superstar and, undoubtedly, Minnesota’s most gifted player.
Love has continued from where he left off the last season and is averaging 24.9 points and 13.9 rebounds per game at the moment.
Just few hours ago, in what was Minnesota’s 18th outing of the season, Kevin produced yet another impressive tally to help his team grab an important 105-90 win over the reigning NBA World Champions Dallas Mavericks.
Kevin pounded a game high 31 points on 9-for-16 from inside the arc including 4-6 from the long range and also grabbed 10 boards. He used his speed to draw many fouls and made use of most of the free throws, netting 9 of 10 from the charity stripe.
Rookie point guard Ricky Rubio was also superb for the Timberwolves and barely missed a triple-double. He had 17 points, 12 assists and 7 boards.
Wayne Ellington registered 16 points and Nikola Pekovic came off the bench to bundle 13 points on a perfect 5 for 5 from the free throw line and 7 rebounds while Derrick Williams netted 10 points.
Minnesota were only 44.2% from the floor but covered for it through an aggressive 9-for-21 from downtown and 28-33 from the free throw line.
Jason Terry led the Mavs with 17 points and 5 assists on the relief whereas starting forward Shawn Marion sealed 15 points. Reserve Rodrigue Beaubois also had 11 points on a night when scoring proved to be a major issue for the Mavericks in the absence of talisman Dirk Nowitzki .
The Mavs finished the first frame with a one point lead 27-26 and pushed the momentum further in the next frame to get as much ahead as 9 points 51-42 with just over two minutes remaining in the first half. However Rubio and Love combined to rattle a 10-2 spurt that ensured Minnesota Timberwolves entered the second half just two points behind 52-54.
The Timberwolves started the third quarter with a 13-4 burst to get ahead by 65-58 but it was neutralized by an equally good 12-5 run from the other end that brought both teams neck to neck at 70 all. Love and Ellington then fuelled an 8-2 spurt in the last minute of the frame to put their team in front 78-72.
Love drilled four free throws at the start of the last frame that boosted Timberwolves lead to double digits 84-72 and virtually paved the way for a win. Mavericks needed to push the accelerator to get back in the game, but they failed to and instead froze at the crucial juncture.
Timberwolves, on the other hand, maintained a double figure lead throughout the frame and at the final buzzer found themselves 15 points ahead.
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