Minnesota top Dallas, sweep 2-game NBA preseason set in Abu Dhabi

Karl-Anthony Towns and Naz Reid each scored 14 points, and the Minnesota Timberwolves topped the Dallas Mavericks 104-96 on Saturday to complete a two-game sweep of the NBA Abu Dhabi Games.

Anthony Edwards, who missed the first game on Thursday with an ankle issue, scored 13 for Minnesota.

Luka Doncic had 18 points, six assists and five rebounds in 19 minutes for Dallas, which was without Kyrie Irving (left groin), Seth Curry (illness) and Markieff Morris (left ankle).

Jaden Hardy led the Mavericks with 22 points and eight rebounds in a game where the majority of starters didn’t appear in the second half.

Dallas never led in Thursday’s preseason opener; they had the lead only three times on Saturday - 3-0, 6-5 and 13-11. Those stints with the lead were all short-lived, lasting a combined 2:13 and all coming in the game’s opening six minutes.

Other than that, Minnesota - riding the strength of a 27-7 run over a 10-minute stretch of the first half - was up the whole way. Dallas got within two in the fourth, with both teams deep into their benches at that point.

The Mavericks now head to Spain where they’ll play Real Madrid - Doncic’s former team - on Tuesday.

Doncic signed with Real Madrid when he was 13 and went on to become the youngest EuroLeague and EuroLeague Final Four MVP when he led the club to that title as a 19-year-old in 2018.

Minnesota doesn’t play again until Oct. 14 at New York. Meanwhile, His Highness Sheikh Khaled Bin Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Council, has met with Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and National Basketball Association (NBA) Deputy Commissioner and COO Mark Tatum, and NBA players in Abu Dhabi.

Also attending the meeting were Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak and Saood Abdulaziz Al Hosani, Chairman and Under-Secretary of the Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi). During the meeting, which took place with the NBA Abu Dhabi Games 2023 series underway at Etihad Arena, they discussed exploring further opportunities for collaboration.

The NBA Abu Dhabi Games 2023 forms part of a strategic four-year partnership between the NBA and DCT Abu Dhabi to host preseason games and activations in the Middle East for the first time.

The partnership also sees DCT Abu Dhabi, under Visit Abu Dhabi (Abu Dhabi’s tourism promotion initiative), serve as the Official Tourism Destination Partner of the NBA in China, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, further enhancing the emirate’s position as a leading destination for international sports events. Central to the partnership is youth engagement and development through initiatives such as the Jr NBA Abu Dhabi League.

This year, the league engaged 900 players aged between 11 and 14 from the emirate’s schools, fostering teamwork and collaboration and providing young people with access to world-leading talent and expertise.

Following last year’s inaugural NBA Abu Dhabi Games at Yas Island’s Etihad Arena, the 2023 series has brought together the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Dallas Mavericks for two games. Elsewhere, Jonathan Kuminga had 24 points and Moses Moody had 15 as Golden State beat Los Angeles, which was without LeBron James and Austin Reaves.

James said earlier this week that he would probably play in only half of the Lakers’ six preseason contests, while Reaves is being rested following his appearance with Team US at this summer’s FIBA World Cup.

With the Warriors limiting the playing time of stars Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, Kuminga shot 8 for 14 from the field and 4 of 5 from the line, and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.

Thompson had 10 points and Curry had 8 in limited first-half action. Veteran Chris Paul, making his Golden State debut after he was acquired in the offseason from Washington, had 6 points. Draymond Green hurt his ankle this week and did not play.