Kyrie Irving scored 16 of his 35 points in the 3rd quarter and knocked down six of his eight 3-point attempts.

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MINNEAPOLIS — Despite the obvious high-stakes history between the Dallas Mavericks and Minnesota Timberwolves of late, both sides framed this game as something clinical rather than emotional.

It was only five months ago that the two met. Western Conference finalsA bloody campaign that the Mavericks won in five games. They returned to Target Center, where Dallas had won three times in that series, including a 124-103 rout that sent the winners into the championship round. Minnesota started working to get better this season, and after being eliminated five games from the Finals, Dallas did the same.

“That was last year. It’s a new year,” Mavs coach Jason Kidd said before Tuesday’s nationally televised game. “This is a different team. “They are a different team.”

Wolves coach Chris Finch didn’t gloss over the backstory like Kidd did, but he came close.

“We didn’t put together a lineup to beat Dallas,” Finch said. “Right now we’re trying to figure out who we are every night.

“We don’t look at this as a rematch or even a rivalry. They’re a great team, they deserved to win that series, I’m sure the kids will remember that. … But it’s still so early in the season, I’m sure they’re trying to figure out who they are.

“But it’s fun to play these teams early because you learn a lot about yourself.”

Hey, this is our department, five packs from Mavericks 120-114 win:

1. 2 creators, 2 closers, 2 QBs

Imagine having Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes as your starting quarterback and Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson as your backup. Now imagine being able to play these together. Their defense can be distracting, right?

That’s what NBA defenses think about Dallas placing Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving in the backcourt, that is. This is no longer news. What’s more, what the Mavs have acquired is an appreciation for how intimidating the teammates they can be when they circle around them.

Irving scored 35 points, 25 after halftime and 16 in the third quarter. These were especially vital because it was unclear how long or well Dončić would play after injuring his right knee in the second quarter. After scoring almost 36 points against Utah on Monday, the experienced point guard played 39 minutes, hitting six of 10 three-pointers and 13 of 23 shots overall.

“It’s a matter of his feeling,” Kidd said. “It’s about energy for him. And whatever the team needs at that moment.”

Dončić labored for much of the game and engaged in verbal jousting with courtside fans that provided some sense of vindication on Tuesday. He missed his first seven 3-pointers, but with 1:04 remaining and the Wolves closing in, he made his eighth from 33 feet to make it 117-109.

“Someone said, ‘We’ve seen this movie before,'” Kidd said. “Luka loves the opportunity to win the game.”

Dončić said: “I don’t know how I made these shots and not normal shots. … I need to remove the rust.”

Boo-beep-hoo. Finch spoke about many NBA coaches and their concern for Dallas, saying earlier in the evening: “They’ve got an incredible pick-and-roll game, obviously a Kyrie-iso game, and now (with Klay Thompson) an off-ball game.” “They’re playing games. They’ve become versatile. They can switch gears to do different things.”

2. Early statement game for Mavs

While Minnesota has been off since Saturday, Dallas had to compete against Utah on Monday night. While Irving completed the aforementioned 75 minutes in a row, Dončić added another 40 minutes on top of his 33:12 against the Jazz.

However, Dallas took a 9-0 lead on the fast break of the third quarter. The Mavericks defeated the Wolves 67-48 in the second and third rounds. While the Mavs had almost as many turnovers as Minnesota in the first half (10-9), the guest team compensated for this with only one turnover in the last 24 minutes.

It is obvious that PJ Washington and Daniel Gafford, who were valuable as midseason signings last season, are now more familiar and established. Young center Dereck Lively II is no longer a rookie. And newcomer Naji Marshall, although known for his offense, was effective defensively on Tuesday with three rebounds and two steals.

3. Edwards attacks from distance

One of the saddest days in recent NBA history came when Vince Carter, the league’s best dunker, chose to change his play to reduce the wear and tear of invading the paint. He was still a young player and was passing as if he were 38-year-old Michael Jordan.

Hopefully 23-year-old Anthony Edwards doesn’t deprive the NBA of many of his key attributes at the rim. However, he has also switched to more field play so far this season and has enjoyed playing with his three-point shots as if they were a new toy.

In his first four seasons in Minnesota, Edwards averaged 7.4 attempts from the arc and achieved 35.3% success with 2.6. He’s nearly doubled this season with 13.3 tries, 5.5 hits and a 41.5% strike rate in four games.

Edwards was scorching at the start of Tuesday. He made six three-pointers in the first 12 minutes and scored 24 points, the most in a quarter. and Target center record for any quarter. Dallas showed more interest in him after that, and Edwards scored just 13 more points in the final three quarters, going 1/5 from the field.

Still, it’s clear he’s writing a new chapter in his burgeoning career.

“Did we replace his midrange with threes, or does he shoot more threes and maintain the same midrange?” Finch joked before the game.

“He’s at a point where he really trusts his shots. We’ve been telling him for years, you’re an outstanding three-point shooter. But he has a lot of game and he likes to dribble…”

4. Dallas broke the glass late

The Mavericks had just one more offensive rebound (12) than Minnesota. Each team had five points in the fourth quarter. However, Dallas came at crucial moments and disappointed the Wolves. It becomes very difficult to try to come back from a 13-point deficit in a period when the opposing team is trying to stay away.

“The dagger shots at the end are very painful when they’re trying to come back,” Finch said, “but the offensive rebounds, there were too many transitions, they couldn’t match up fast enough and Kyrie’s getting loose right now.”

Lively (2), Gafford, Washington and Dončić sneaked in to create second and even third chances for Dallas to attack and kill the clock.

“It’s our responsibility, especially mine,” Edwards said, “I’m so big. I should be able to get them away from the big guys.”

5. Randle adapts

Newly acquired power forward Julius Randle brought a retro style of play in New York when he was traded with Donte DiVincenzo to the Wolves for Karl-Anthony Towns. It’s exciting to see old-school positions starting in the low post, but that can be challenging in today’s three-point series.

So far, so good. Randle scored 20 points on seven rebounds, seven assists and 3-for-3 shooting. He played with the flow, didn’t force anything, took opportunities when his teammates looked for him.

Randle averaged 23.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists in four games and shot 62.5% from three (16/10).

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Steve Aschburner has been writing about the NBA since 1980. You can email him. Hereto find archive here And follow him on x.

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