Karl-Anthony Towns had 20 points and nine rebounds, and the Minnesota Timberwolves made up for a tight loss in Dallas four days earlier by beefing up their defense and outscoring the Mavericks 116-95 on Friday.
Jordan McLaughlin posted a season-high 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting for the Timberwolves, who fell a half-game behind rested Denver for a coveted sixth spot in the Western Conference to avoid the playoff minitournament .
Minnesota, which put a stop to two straight losses, will face the Nuggets next week.
Luka Doncic had 24 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists for the Mavericks, who passed up a chance to pass Utah for sole possession of fourth place in the West. The Mavs are tied with the Jazz, who lost at Charlotte on Friday, in the fight for home-court advantage in what looks like a first-round playoff matchup. Dallas and Utah will meet on Sunday.
Dwight Powell scored 13 points for the Mavericks, who also blew their chance to move 18 games over the .500 mark.
Dallas held on to a 110-108 victory over visiting Wolves on Monday night, in a game in which Minnesota held the lead until a late oversight and an umpires’ decision that didn’t go their way.
They then blew a 15-point third-quarter lead Wednesday night at home to lose to NBA-leading Phoenix.
