The inquisitive fans got what they came to American Airlines Center for on Monday night.
Sort of.
The sellout crowd of 20,325 wanted to get an up close and personal look at the newest member of the Mavs – Kyrie Irving — and see how his exceptional skills match with those of Luka Doncic. Check, check and double check.
But unfortunately for the Mavs, they couldn’t check the box that matters the most – the one in the win column. That’s because the Minnesota Timberwolves mounted a 26-point lead in the third quarter before holding on for a wild 124-121 triumph over the Mavs.
The Mavs (31-28) will now play in Denver on Wednesday before pausing for the All-Star break. After the break, the Mavs will resume play at home on Feb.23 against the San Antonio Spurs.
Against the Timberwolves, the Mavs saw enough of Irving and Doncic on the court together to know that — with time — they’re going to give a lot of teams a lot of headaches before this season is done.
“Yeah, they have a lot of firepower out there,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “(The Mavs have) guys that create offense at a high level 
for themselves and for others.
“I’m sure with Luka, he’s created so much offense for this team that you knew where the threats were going to come from. But now, it’s way more unpredictable.”
While that all may be true, the Timberwolves were the ones who built an 89-63 lead with 6:53 remaining in the third quarter following a basket by Anthony Edwards. But the Mavs got all the way to within 123-121 of after Irving drilled a three-pointer with 27.8 seconds remaining.
However, as coach Jason Kidd was hollering for his team not to intentionally foul anyone and to just play heads-up defense, Josh Green inexplicably intentionally fouled Mike Conley, who split a pair of free throws with 15.1 seconds left to give Minnesota a three-point lead.
“(We) didn’t want the foul, but for whatever reason Josh fouled,” Kidd said. “But it’s a great learning experience for a young player.
“Sometimes when we’re yelling, ‘Don’t foul!,’ that can sound like, ‘Foul!’ It’s not a negative. He’s a young player and he fouled. But that’s not the win or loss.”
Following a timeout, the Mavs failed to get off a shot against the Timberwolves’ smothering defense as time
expired while Irving and Doncic kept passing the ball to each other while looking for an open look. At one point during that late sequence, the Timberwolves even tapped the ball into the backcourt and Doncic had to chase it down.
“I’m still trying to emotionally recover – it’s still so raw,” Irving said. “I would have at least liked to get a shot up. Obviously, with Luka taking it in the backcourt on that steal attempt, it messed up our spacing.
“We were going for a quick two. That was the plan. It didn’t end up going that way and I should have given Luka more spacing. I thought I had a shot attempt the second time he drove and kicked, and then I expected Theo (Pinson) to be in a spot. It was the end of the clock, adrenaline was running high, anything can happen. I have to get a shot up if anything, or allow Luka to have some space to get a shot – not turn the ball over in that situation. It’s on me to be smarter in those situations.”
It was a night where Irving connected on 11-of-12 shots in the frantic fourth quarter when he personally outscored the Timberwolves, 26-24. Acquired a week ago in a trade with the Brooklyn Nets, Irving finished with a game-high 36 points, five rebounds, six assists and two steals, while Doncic collected 33 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists, and Christian Wood added 24 and five boards in 23 minutes.
Afterward, Irving — playing in front of the Mavs’ home crowd for the first time since the trade — was apologetic for not being able to drive this team successfully across the finish line.
“I’m grateful I was able to put on a show alongside my teammates,” Irving said. “Again, I really wanted this win, so to all the Dallas fans at home I apologize for not getting at least a shot up or something.
“I’m cringing myself. But it’s fun in competition, and I’m just learning more about my teammates as we continue to be in these situational games. It just tells a lot about our team on how we respond.”
Eduardo Chiapa surely enjoyed himself at the game. Chiapa was the winner of the Michelob ULTRA’s courtside seat giveaway for Monday’s game, so he was right near all the action.
“We’re super excited to have courtside seats,” Chiapa said. “It’s on our bucket list, and we can cross it off now.
“We’re equally, if not more excited, to see Kyrie play for the Mavs and are excited to have a player of his talent play alongside Luka.”
It was a slow start for the Mavs, who trailed, 33-23, after the first quarter thanks to 12 points from Edwards. The Mavs led, 17-15, after Doncic fed Irving for a layup.
From there, the Timberwolves went on an 18-4 and assumed a 33-21 lead after Naz Reid buried a three-pointer. Part of the reason Minnesota was so successful early on was because it outrebounded the Mavs, 12-5, in the first quarter, including 4-0 in offensive rebounds.
Irving was asked about his ability to play on and off the ball with a super talent like Doncic although that’s exactly what he did in Cleveland
opposite future Hall of Famer LeBron James and in Brooklyn opposite future Hall of Famer James Harden.
“I think maybe it’s just a trending question is to ask me over and over again to kind of get maybe a similar or different response,” Irving said. “All I know is it’s really fun to play basketball with a lot of high IQ high level players and make it work.
“You throw me out there at the YMCA or Boys and Girls club and you ask me to play with a bunch of kids, I’m going to be the same way. If you ask me to play with the best players in the world and be selfless, I’m willing to do that.”
This was the Mavs’ first game since they returned home on Sunday following a 10-day road trip tat obviously took a lot of steam out of them.
“You come back and try to be home, but it is always tough when you come back from a long road trip,” said Doncic, who was 10-of-20 from the field. “Especially under these circumstances when we are trying to get to know each other.
“But that’s not an excuse. I think Minnesota played great today, so give them credit.”
Edwards (32 points), Rudy Gobert (21 points, 14 rebounds) and Jaden McDaniels (19 points) led the Timberwolves who improved to 31-29. Minnesota also outrebounded the Mavs, 39-33, and enjoyed a 64-54 advantage on points scored inside the paint.
“Look at Edwards, he came out aggressive and he was taking advantage of that, getting into the paint, being able to finish and then getting to the free throw line,” Kidd said. “But I thought the fourth quarter is the way we played on the road, with just the pace, being aggressive and we knocked down shots.
“Tonight, we just struggled from the three (converting just 13-of-39 threes). We just couldn’t get our rhythm. We had some wide open shots we couldn’t make.”
Doncic gave Irving credit for the assortment of gravity-defying and pressure-packed shots he converted in the fourth quarter. Shots that were magical in nature and kept the crowd thoroughly engaged.
“It was insane,” Doncic said. “All of the guys were just looking at each other wondering how he does that. It was unbelievable to see, and he really got hot.”
The Mavs are hoping to see more of that from Irving – along with some victories – in the coming weeks.
Twitter: @DwainPrice
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