The Dallas Mavericks vs. Timberwolves preview for Thursday night centers on two teams riding winning streaks in different directions. Dallas (7-4) has won three straight and travels to Minneapolis to face Minnesota (8-3), winner of four in a row, in a Northwest-Southwest crossover at Target Center. Both clubs sit near the top of their divisions, and the game marks the first meeting of the season series.
Minnesota enters as the hotter team on paper, but Dallas has been just as productive offensively of late, including a 130-93 rout of the Brooklyn Nets and a 125-122 win over the Indiana Pacers in its last two outings, detailed in Total Apex Sports’ Pacers vs. Mavericks preview.
Mavericks Vs Timberwolves Game Information
- Date: Thursday, Nov. 12
- Time: 8 p.m. ET
- Venue: Target Center, Minneapolis, MN
- TV/Streaming: NBA TV, KFAA-TV, MavsTV
- Series: First meeting of the 2026-27 season
By The Numbers
- Points per game: Minnesota 118.1, Dallas 114.9
- Field goal percentage: Dallas 47.8%, Minnesota 47.4%
- Three-point percentage: Minnesota 37.3%, Dallas 34.4%
- Assists per game: Dallas 26.4, Minnesota 25.6
- Turnovers per game: Minnesota 15.2, Dallas 15.4
- Offensive rebounds per game: Minnesota 14.5, Dallas 12.5
- Defensive rebounds per game: Minnesota 34.3, Dallas 32.0
- Steals per game: Dallas 8.7, Minnesota 8.6
- Blocks per game: Dallas 5.6, Minnesota 5.1
- Free throw percentage: Dallas 78.2%, Minnesota 67.0%
Mavericks Outlook
Dallas has won three consecutive games and comes in at 7-4, sitting fourth in the Southwest Division, two games back of division-leading San Antonio. Rookie Cooper Flagg leads the team at 25.9 points, 6.9 rebounds and 6.9 assists per game, and his all-around line also includes 2.2 steals and 0.8 blocks per contest. P.J. Washington paces Dallas on the glass at 7.5 rebounds per game.
The Mavericks are shooting 78.2% from the free-throw line as a team, well above Minnesota’s 67.0% mark, and they are averaging 26.4 assists per game to 15.4 turnovers, a positive differential that has fueled their recent offensive surge, including a 130-point outburst against Brooklyn detailed in Total Apex Sports’ coverage of the Mavericks’ homestand sweep.
Dallas is dealing with a thin frontcourt. Center Dereck Lively II (right foot surgery), forward Tarik Biberovic (right heel inflammation) and forward Sergio de Larrea (right knee strain) are all listed as out, with a projected return date of Nov. 18 for each. Forward Morez Johnson Jr. is day-to-day with a left lower leg bruise and carries a listed return date of Nov. 12, making his availability for Thursday’s game uncertain. With those absences, Dallas is expected to lean further on Flagg and Washington to anchor both ends of the floor.
Timberwolves Outlook
Minnesota has won four straight and sits atop the Northwest Division at 8-3, tied with Oklahoma City on percentage but ahead by the league’s tiebreaker criteria. The Timberwolves have outscored opponents in each of their last four games, beating Milwaukee 112-100, Houston 117-107, New Orleans 115-109 and Utah 115-100.
LaMelo Ball leads Minnesota in both scoring (18.3 points per game) and assists (6.0 per game), while Rudy Gobert anchors the interior with a league-leading 12.1 rebounds per game for the team. Ayo Dosunmu has emerged as an efficient scorer, averaging 18.1 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game. Minnesota’s defense has been active, averaging 8.6 steals and 5.1 blocks per game, and the team’s 34.3 defensive rebounds per game are among the better marks between these two clubs.
The Timberwolves are without two key perimeter players. Guard Anthony Edwards remains out following right knee surgery, with a listed return date of Dec. 21, and guard Donte DiVincenzo is out after right Achilles surgery, with a projected return of April 2, 2027. Those absences have pushed Ball and Dosunmu into larger offensive roles, which both have filled during Minnesota’s current four-game winning streak.
Key Matchup
Dallas owns the edge in two-point shooting at 57.0% compared to Minnesota’s 54.9%, a gap that becomes significant with Gobert patrolling the paint and averaging 12.1 rebounds per game. How Flagg and Washington attack the interior against Gobert’s size could decide which team controls the paint.
Minnesota’s rebounding advantage, 14.5 offensive boards per game to Dallas’s 12.5, also stands out given Dallas is already shorthanded in the frontcourt with Lively sidelined. Second-chance opportunities for the Timberwolves could offset Dallas’s efficiency advantage if Washington and the rest of Dallas’s bigs can’t match Minnesota’s activity on the glass.
What To Watch
Both teams sit near the top of their respective divisions early in the season, with Minnesota leading the Northwest and Dallas sitting fourth in the Southwest at 2.0 games back. A Mavericks win would extend their streak to four and keep pace in a crowded Southwest race that includes San Antonio, Houston and Memphis all within 1.5 games of the lead.
For Minnesota, a fifth straight win would strengthen its hold on the Northwest, where Oklahoma City sits tied in the loss column. Both offenses have been productive without full rosters, and Thursday’s result will show which depleted lineup is better equipped to carry its recent form into the back half of November.
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