Dallas Mavericks vs Minnesota Timberwolves head-to-head, last 5 games, odds and more for 2024 NBA Conference Finals

The Minnesota Timberwolves earned the right to face the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference finals after dethroning the Denver Nuggets on Sunday. Anthony Edwards and Co. pulled the rug from under the Nuggets 98-90 to reach the stage they last went to in 2004. The Timberwolves will have home-court advantage but they will face a team that has consistently beaten that disadvantage this season.

The Mavericks return to the conference finals for the second time over the past three years. They lost to the Golden State Warriors in 2022 before reaching the same level this year. Luka Doncic has been on this stage before and will be raring to lead his team to get over the hump this time.

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Dallas Mavericks vs Minnesota Timberwolves head-to-head numbers last 5 games

The Dallas Mavericks and the Minnesota Timberwolves went head-to-head four times this season with Minnesota winning the season series 3-1. Included in compiling the steam stats were the two teams’ final encounter last season which Minnesota won 124-121 on February 13, 2023.

Here are their head-to-head numbers during their last 5 matchups:

	Dallas Mavericks	Minnesota Timberwolves
PTS	106.8	118
REB	36.2	43.6
AST	26.6	32.6
STL	6.2	7.6
BLK	3.6	4.8
TO	14.6	14.8
FG%	45.7	51.8
3-PT FG%	31.1	40.5
FT%	78.4	67.3
FB points	10.4	11.8
Points in the paint	41.4	45.2

The results and the figures during the said five-game stretch will likely have little to do with what starts on Wednesday. Daniel Gafford and P.J. Washington, two of Dallas’ biggest additions this season, weren’t with the Mavs yet when the Timberwolves faced them. Minnesota will be facing a largely different team when it hosts Dallas in Games 1 and 2 to open the series.

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Mavericks-Timberwolves overall playoff numbers

Perhaps a more accurate picture of how the Dallas Mavericks and Minnesota Timberwolves have been performing will be from postseason stats. After reaching the conference finals, where the Mavs and Wolves stand among playoff teams will be a better gauge of how they have been doing.

	Dallas Mavericks	League Rank	Minnesota Timberwolves	League Rank
PTS	106.5	7	108.4	4
REB	43.8	5	44.1	4
AST	22.9	7	24.4	4
STL	6.4	7	7.3	5
BLK	6.3	1	4.7	8
FG%	45.9	8	47.2	5
3-PT FG%	36.6	6	35.8	8
FT%	69.8	16	79.6	8
Net Rating	3.3	6	8.5	2
Offensive Rating	113.9	7	116.1	6
Defensive Rating	110.6	6	107.6	4

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Series odds for Mavericks-Timberwolves

The Dallas Mavericks are unsurprisingly the underdogs with a +146 odds to win the series. Meanwhile, the Minnesota Timberwolves are -180 favorites to reach the 2024 NBA Finals.

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The paint battle will be intense

In the Dallas Mavericks’ upset of the OKC Thunder, the top-seeded team in the Western Conference, Luka Doncic made all the headlines. He had a mouthwatering duel with fellow MVP finalist Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and emerged victorious. In this series, his mano-a-mano with Anthony Edwards will get the spotlight.

But, the paint battle could take some of the limelight between two teams who are looking to impose their will inside. When Dallas eliminated Oklahoma, the Mavs’ big men committee of Daniel Gafford, P.J. Washington and Dereck Lively II owned the shaded lane. The trio will face a much sterner test versus Minnesota’s frontline.

Gafford and even Lively overpowered Chet Holmgren but doing the same against Rudy Gobert, Karl-Anthony Towns and Naz Reid will not be as easy. Gobert is shedding the reputation that he is unplayable in the playoffs now that he is surrounded by athletic and rangy perimeter defenders. “KAT” has been quietly doing his part, making the four-time Defensive Player of the Year winner proud.

The team that controls the paint will have a big edge so the inside battle between the Dallas Mavericks and Minnesota Timberwolves will be intense.

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Anthony Edwards has come of age

Among the Western Conference finalists, the OKC Thunder and the Minnesota Timberwolves were seen as the untested teams. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Anthony Edwards did not have the postseason resume that Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic have.

Minnesota’s win on Sunday has changed all that with Edwards leading the Timberwolves to an eye-opening upset of the Denver Nuggets. “Ant-Man” can still significantly improve but the Wolves can claim that they already have a franchise cornerstone who is built for the playoffs.

Luka Doncic’s Dallas Mavericks will have the advantage in experience but the Timberwolves will be unfazed. They just sent home the team with perhaps the best clutch pairing in the playoffs.