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Kyrie Irving scored 35 points as the Dallas Mavericks recovered from an early Anthony Edwards onslaught to score a 120-114 road win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday.
Edwards had looked poised to help Minnesota avenge last season's Western Conference finals defeat to Dallas after erupting for 24 points in a devastating first-quarter performance. He rained in six three-pointers and shot six-of-10 from the field to help Minnesota take a 34-26 lead into the second quarter, but Dallas hit back, outscoring Minnesota 35-25 in the second quarter to take a 61-59 lead at half-time.
Irving took over in the third quarter with 16 points as Dallas built a decisive 93-82 advantage heading into the fourth. Although Minnesota rallied to get within two points with just over three minutes remaining, Dallas regrouped and a monster three-pointer from Luka Doncic and nine fourth-quarter points from Irving closed out the win. "We're just very resilient and understood what the game plan was," a relieved Irving said after winning. "They were making a lot of threes. We know this team very well. They know us very well - so we knew it was going to be a personal one. Emotions were high so just grateful that we came in here and got the dub (win)."
Irving led the Dallas scoring with Doncic adding 24 points. P.J. Washington chipped in with 17 points while Daniel Gafford added 14. Minnesota star Edwards meanwhile topped the home team's scorers with a game-high 37 points, with new recruit Julius Randle finishing with 20.
Irving was satisfied with a performance that saw Dallas improve to 3-1 for the season as they look to establish themselves as genuine contenders in the West. "We're just getting acclimated, we're getting into a great rhythm, getting in great shape," Irving said of Dallas's promising early season form. "We just want to value possessions right now, we're just developing that chemistry."
