Wolves Lose To Mavs 113-98

DALLAS (AP) — Darren Collison led six players in double figures with 23 points and the Dallas Mavericks matched their season high with a third straight win in a 113-98 victory against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night.

The Mavericks overcame an early spark from former Dallas guard J.J. Barea, who became a starter midway through the 2011 NBA finals against Miami and helped the franchise rally to its first title.

Barea, who was injured in two previous trips to Dallas, led the Timberwolves with 21 points. He kept Minnesota close in the first half and had a hand in a fourth-quarter rally that cut a 23-point deficit to eight.

The Timberwolves finished a 0-4 road trip that coach Rick Adelman missed for personal reasons.

O.J. Mayo and Elton Brand had 20 points each for Dallas. It was a season high for Brand. Mayo also had nine assists.

Minnesota trailed by nine in the third quarter when Dallas guard Jae Crowder beat the shot clock with a 3-pointer moments before Ricky Rubio was called for a technical foul from the bench. Less than a minute later, Alexey Shved was called for kicking out his leg when he made a 3-pointer, negating the shot. Shawn Marion scored on other end, and Mayo followed with a 3-pointer to put the Mavericks ahead 83-67 late in the third quarter.

The Dallas run eventually reached 19-5 for a 91-68 lead before the Timberwolves rallied. They thought they were within seven after Barea hit a 3-pointer with 3:16 left and the Mavericks called timeout. During the break, the deficit grew to eight at 101-93 after officials reviewed an earlier 3-pointer by Rubio and made it a 2 instead.

Collison hit a 3-pointer to push the lead back to 11 and keep Minnesota from getting any closer. Nikola Pekovic had 20 points and 12 rebounds for the Timberwolves.

After helping Dallas win the title, Barea didn’t play in his first trip to Dallas but did get a championship ring in Minnesota’s only trip last season. He sat out a game earlier this season with a sprained foot.

Coming off the bench late in the first quarter, Barea had two quick assists then scored eight of Minnesota’s first 10 points in the second. Barea hit three 3-pointers and a driving layup and led the Timberwolves with 11 points and four assists before halftime.

Barea, who had about 15 family members and friends in the crowd, helped Minnesota cut an 11-point deficit to 40-38 before Vince Carter converted a three-point play to start a 15-5 run that put the Mavericks up 55-43 late in the second quarter. Brand had eight points during the run and led Dallas with 14 points on 7-of-8 shooting in the first half.

Marion missed all five of his shots in the first half for Dallas two nights after scoring a season-high 20 on 9-of-13 shooting against Memphis. But Marion led the Mavericks with six rebounds before halftime and finished with a team-high eight. Collison had 10 points and five assists in the first half.

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