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Mavericks win handily in Minnesota

Jan 22, 2015 - 4:47 AM Minneapolis, MN (SportsNetwork.com) - Chandler Parsons poured in 22 points in only 26 minutes and the Dallas Mavericks had little trouble with the lowly Minnesota Timberwolves, rolling to a 98-75 win at Target Center.

Parsons finished 9-of-13 from the floor and 4-of-6 from 3-point range, while the Mavericks hit on 11-of-27 shots from beyond the arc in handing the Timberwolves a ninth straight loss on their home court.

Minnesota, in contrast, went a poor 2-of-15 on 3-point tries and shot just 34.8 percent overall.

"It felt like we were playing with deflated balls tonight," Timberwolves head coach Flip Saunders joked in reference to the controversy surrounding the New England Patriots' recent win in the AFC Championship Game. "We couldn't shoot at all tonight."

Dirk Nowitzki added 16 points and nine rebounds in Dallas' third consecutive victory, which improved them to 16-7 on the road.

"We have a veteran team. No crowd is going to get in our head or make us play out of character," Parsons said. "I don't understand how we don't play better at home."

Andrew Wiggins paced the Timberwolves with 18 points, with Thaddeus Young tallying 14 points, 11 rebounds and six assists in defeat.

Nikola Pekovic, playing his first game since Minnesota's loss in Dallas on Nov. 15, had 14 points in 23 minutes in his return.

Minnesota was able to stay with the Mavericks through a quarter of play, trailing just 24-21 after Nowitzki knocked down a 3-pointer near the end of the period. Dallas completely dominated the second, however, en route to building a 59-38 lead at halftime.

A pair of Devin Harris triples closed out an 8-2 Dallas run to begin the frame and the Mavs finished the quarter on a tear, outscoring the Timberwolves by a 19-6 count over the final 5 1/2 minutes.

Parsons accounted for 10 of the first 12 points of the surge, the last three on a long jumper that extended the lead to 52-34 with 3:07 to go in the half. Young hit a jumper on the other end, but five straight points from Dallas' Al- Farouq Aminu had the Mavericks up by 21 just moments later.

"They're an offensive juggernaut," Saunders said of Dallas. "I call it popcorn basketball and the basketball is popping all around. That's what we've got to get to down the road."

Parsons had 19 points by the break, 13 of which came in the second quarter.

Minnesota got as close as 62-45 following a Robbie Hummel 3-pointer with 7:35 left in the third quarter, but Parsons sank another triple and Nowitzki finished an 8-0 spurt with a trey to increase the margin to 25 points.

The Mavericks took a 75-57 lead into the fourth quarter and were ahead by as many as 25 points in the final stanza.

Game Notes

Minnesota's nine-game home losing streak is the club's longest since a 10-game skid from Feb. 10-March 28, 2010 ... Pekovic had missed 31 consecutive games with an ankle injury ... The Mavericks have now won in 13 of their last 16 visits to the Target Center ... Dallas' Monta Ellis recorded just seven points on 3-of-12 shooting.