Mavs Notebook: 4 Takeaways From Zaccharie Risacher Scoring On Tough Road Trip

CLEVELAND - Zaccharie Risacher did not get off the bench in the first quarter Thursday night at Target Center. He finished with a season-high 22 points, which led the Dallas Mavericks in a 133-94 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The defeat ended a three-game winning streak and dropped Dallas to 7-5 on the season and 2-3 on the road. Minnesota improved to 9-3 with its fifth straight win, and it did so without Anthony Edwards, who was inactive after right knee arthroscopy.

Dallas held its largest lead, 24-19, with 3:05 left in the first quarter. The Timberwolves answered with a 12-0 run, led 67-52 at halftime, and outscored the Mavericks 36-17 in the third quarter. Their lead reached 44 points with 2:47 remaining. The Mavericks shot 35-of-94 from the field, a 37.2% clip, and went 13-of-48 from 3-point range. Minnesota shot 57.8% and scored 74 points in the paint to 42 for Dallas.

Cooper Flagg had 12 points on 5-of-12 shooting with 7 rebounds and 3 assists. Kyrie Irving scored 10 points on 4-of-11 shooting. The loss also opened a road stretch for Dallas. Flagg had scored a season-high 43 points against Indiana on Monday, when Irving added 35.

The Mavs are on a road-trip sandwich here, with the Minnesota game being followed up by a visit to Cleveland on Saturday and then a Monday trip to Boston.

Are there some lessons to be learned as they move forward? Our Mavs 4-Takeaway Notebook ...

Risacher checked in to open the second quarter and made an immediate mark. He came up with a steal off Ayo Dosunmu, then hit a 3-pointer at the other end 46 seconds into the period. At the 6:53 mark, his fast-break dunk off a Caleb Martin assist cut Minnesota’s lead to 43-42.

Risacher went 9-of-14 from the field and 4-of-8 from deep. He added 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block in 24:41. Fifteen of his points came after halftime, including 11 in the fourth quarter. It was his first 20-point game as a Maverick, according to the team’s game notes. Atlanta selected Risacher with the first overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. In Dallas’ season opener at Houston on Oct. 21, he set a career high with 5 steals.

Risacher said his shooting had been a source of frustration this season.

“Didn’t feel as comfortable as I used to be, and I feel like just not losing confidence and keep working made that possible,” Risacher said. “Tonight I [had] a little bit more looks, but I feel like it’s just a reflection of the work I put in every day. And yeah, I mean, it’s a good sign.”

The fourth-quarter minutes came with Dallas trailing by 34 or more. Mavericks coach Dusty May said the reserves got valuable reps against Minnesota’s second unit in that environment.

Minnesota had already gone ahead 34-26 after one quarter when the Timberwolves’ bench took over. Bones Hyland scored 24 points on 7-of-10 shooting, made 5 of his 6 3-point attempts, and handed out 8 assists. LaMelo Ball finished with 22 points, 6 made 3-pointers, and 9 assists.

May said the most disappointing part of the night was how Dallas responded to Minnesota’s runs.

“Once the floodgates opened, they’re an explosive team,” May said. “Their speed, their athleticism, and then you factor that in with the shot making. Bones comes in, goes five or six. A lot of those are off the bounce from three, and so it’s kind of the perfect storm.”

“We’re not [capitalizing] on numbers breaks,” May continued. “We have a couple loose turnovers, and then they just make you pay, and then you’re playing on your heels.”

Dallas committed 19 turnovers. Naji Marshall had 2 of them, along with 13 points on 4-of-10 shooting, 4 assists, and 2 steals in 22:35. He went 4-of-4 at the free-throw line, all in the first quarter.

Minnesota was physical at the point of attack from the beginning, Marshall said.

“Some better screens, more pace,” Marshall said. “That’s really about it.”

The Timberwolves were too comfortable, and Dallas did not impose its rhythm, according to Risacher.

“The communication gotta be a little bit better between every one of us,” Risacher explained. “It’s setting better screens for them, make them move a little bit more.”

“It’s just team effort, and we talked about it in the locker room, and that’s what is great about this team,” Risacher added. “We can talk to each other with no filter. Nobody’s mad or anything. We just got good communication, and I felt like we should have done a better job earlier in the game.”

Dallas trailed 41-31 at the 9:50 mark of the second quarter and outscored Minnesota 11-2 over the next three minutes. Daniel Gafford went to the bench with 8:51 left, and Santi Aldama replaced him. Risacher scored on a putback, Aldama hit a 3-pointer, Flagg finished a layup off an Aldama steal, Martin scored in transition, and Risacher dunked.

Minnesota closed the half on a 24-10 stretch. The Timberwolves then opened the third quarter with a 10-1 run to go up 77-53. Dallas shot 7-of-22 from the field in the third.

May said Dallas played in a pretty good rhythm and flow in the first quarter before Minnesota’s second unit injected life into the Timberwolves.

“We brought in our small-ball lineup and was able to make a run, and then we weren’t able to really sustain that with the same type of play,” May explained. “I thought that was big because if we could have really sustained that momentum and play, then it could have been at least more interesting, closer to half. But once they called timeout, they answered that run, and then we weren’t able to ever [claw] back in.”

Even in the first half, while Dallas was playing well, the Mavericks gave Minnesota a couple of easy baskets by falling asleep on defense, May said.

“I thought we were a little bit impatient once they started making shots,” May said. “We didn’t work for great ones. We kind of settled for somewhat good ones, and then it became contagious. I thought we tried to match their play individually instead of just continuing to trust each other collectively.”

Ball’s six 3-pointers came on 10 attempts. Four of them came in the first half, when he scored 16 points. May said Ball and Hyland earned their baskets individually, one-on-one, with great play.

“I think that’s, for us, painfully obvious that when he gets going like that, he’s making shots off the dribble from 26, 28 feet,” May said. “We’ve got to figure out a solution for it. But then he’s able to get in the paint and break you down when you do push up and put two on the ball. So, obviously, when he has it going like that, he’s an extremely tough cover, and he played well tonight.”

Dallas did not match Minnesota’s physicality early enough, Marshall said.

“I think it’s just us. I don’t think we was connected tonight,” Marshall explained. “I don’t think we followed the game plan well tonight. Coach put a very good game plan together for us, and I think we let that slip. So those are good players over there. They got some guys over there who do their thing. So it’s our job to stay connected and prevent stuff like that from happening. Just gotta [flush] this one next game.”

Risacher said the Mavericks let the Timberwolves play their basketball.

“I agree. I feel like we also gotta do a better job to execute the game plan,” Risacher said. “And be there for each other if somebody make a mistake. He knows four people behind his back gonna get his back.”

Dallas has not done anything yet, Marshall said, and the Mavericks still have to lock in every day and bring energy.

“We’re just playing like Mavericks basketball. I think when we do that, we can be in any game. And sometimes I think we drop the ball on that,” Marshall said. “We gotta be the dogs from the jump, and if we do that, I feel like we’ll be in every game.”

Tarik Biberović (right heel bursitis), Sergio De Larrea (right knee sprain), and Dereck Lively II (right foot surgery) were inactive for Dallas. The Mavericks play the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday at Rocket Arena. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. CT on KFAA 29.