A quarter. This is how long it will have been enough for Wolvesalthough deprived of Anthony Edwards (ankle), to take the measure of the Mavericks (111-99) in this first match of preseason 2023/24, relocated to Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates).
If the players of Dallas thought they could reverse the trend in the second half, by getting back to -5 when the substitutes of the two teams were on the floor, they were weighed down by their start to the game, when the holders faced each other.
Very quickly in the lead 19-3, then 29-9 and finally 37-19 after twelve minutes, the players of Minnesota were ruthless with their opponents of the day, then managing their lead for the next three quarters.
Author of 20 points in 17 minutes (8/16 shooting), Karl-Anthony Towns showed the way to Wolves and he was able to count on the support coming off the bench Naz Reid (16 points, 7 rebounds), Luka Garza (12 points, 6 rebounds) or Shake Milton (12 points). As for Rudy Goberthe compiled 9 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocks in 23 minutes.
On the Mavericks side, Luka Doncic put out a statistically high-flying first half, putting up 25 points and 5 rebounds in just 17 minutes (8/14 shooting, 6/7 shooting). But unlike “KAT”, the contribution of his teammates was not optimal, with the only Jaden Hardy (13 points) capable of bringing scoring. Kyrie Irving for example finished with only 2 points in 14 minutes (1/6 on the shoot).
Dallas and Minnesota will now meet this Saturday (6:00 p.m.) for their second (and final) preseason match relocated to Abu Dhabi.
