Ranking the 10 best games of the Timberwolves regular season
By James Siems
9. December 14 – at Dallas Mavericks (101-119)
Top Performance(s):
Naz Reid – 27 points, 7 3-pointers
Karl-Anthony Towns – 21 points, 17 rebounds
The "Naz Reid game" (or at least one of them). While this game didn’t end up coming down to the wire, and the intensity was lowered due to Irving’s absence from the Mavericks starting lineup, it was still full of excitement.
On a night when Wolves' star Edwards shot a putrid 3-of-19 from the field, the Timberwolves needed someone else to step up and carry the offensive load. Towns made some nice contributions in the scoring department and was also a difference-maker on the glass, but it was not the former number-one overall pick who gave the Timberwolves the momentum to pull away.
Instead, it was the undrafted big man, turned Sixth Man of the Year candidate, Naz Reid. The LSU product made it rain in Dallas, knocking down seven threes—five of them in the first half.
With Reid’s contributions, the Timberwolves were able to overcome a Luka Doncic onslaught of 39 points and 13 assists to finish with a comfortable victory. It was the second time Reid led the team in scoring during the 2023-24 season. The former bench warmer, who has now become a vital part of the Timberwolves' playoff rotation, and something of a folk hero, would go on do to this four more times.