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Timberwolves-Mavericks Preview

Feb 4, 2010 - 9:54 PM By ALAN FERGUSON STATS Writer

Minnesota (11-38) at Dallas (31-18), 8:30 p.m. EDT

With balanced scoring and better defensive efforts, the Minnesota Timberwolves have shown signs of improvement in their past two games.

Winning a season-high third in a row, however, might prove to be a difficult task.

To accomplish that feat, Minnesota will have to snap a 13-game slide against the Dallas Mavericks and an overall nine-game road losing streak Friday night.

The Timberwolves (11-38) earned back-to-back wins for the second time this season with Sunday's 112-91 victory over New York, a team that beat them by 27 points five days earlier.

Kevin Love led five Wolves in double figures with a career-high 25 points. He was one of six Minnesota players with at least 10 points in a 111-97 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers last Friday.

Minnesota shot 51.2 percent in those wins, during which they were boosted by former Maverick Ryan Hollins in his first two games as a starter. He scored 17.5 points per game in those contests - nearly triple his season average - and added three blocks against the Knicks.

The Timberwolves, allowing an average of 106.7 points, held their last two opponents to less than 100.

"We see how teams are reacting to us, thinking we're going to be an easy team to beat," leading scorer Al Jefferson told the team's official Web site. "That's gotta end, and it has to be with our defense."

Minnesota will try to carry its improvement to the road, where it is giving up a league-worst 112.1 points per game. The Timberwolves allowed an average of 119.7 points in their past nine away from home.

They held the Mavericks (31-18) to 89 in a home matchup Nov. 13, but scored 77 while shooting a season-low 32.6 percent. Minnesota averaged 86.2 points in its last 13 games against Dallas.

All of those were Mavericks victories, and Dallas can tie the NBA's longest active win streak against an opponent Friday.

The Southwest Division leader would certainly like to share that mark, but a bigger priority is avoiding a fourth loss in five games.

The Mavericks snapped a three-game slide by topping Golden State 110-101 on Wednesday night. Dallas, though, continued its recent trend of being victimized for big individual efforts.

The Warriors' Monta Ellis scored 46 points, which came after Andre Miller had 52 in Dallas' 114-112 overtime loss to Portland on Saturday night.

"After you lose three in a row, it doesn't matter how you stop the bleeding," forward Dirk Nowitzki said after the victory over the Warriors. "You got to stop it somehow. At least, we got a win."

The Mavericks gave up an average of 107.6 points over the last five games and 105.2 while splitting their past six at home. Dallas is allowing 98.3 points a game on the season.

Jason Terry averaged 20.0 points over the past six games - 3.4 above his season mark - and 19.1 in his last eight at home. He scored 20.5 points a contest in his previous six against Minnesota.

Nowitzki averaged 26.0 points and shot 53.7 percent in the last eight matchups.

The Mavericks haven't lost to the Timberwolves since Jan. 4, 2006, and have not dropped a home meeting since March 15, 2005, winning seven in a row.

Minnesota, which most recently won three in a row Jan. 23-26, 2009, has not dropped 10 straight on the road since a 16-game skid from Nov. 28, 2007-Jan. 19, 2008.