Anthony Edwards returns to Timberwolves in 124-94 blowout of Mavericks

Chris Hine, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Mar 30, 2026

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Anthony Edwards wasn’t in that big of a hurry to get back from injury.

As the Minnesota Timberwolves and Dallas Mavericks tipped off Monday Edwards wasn’t present on the floor, even though he was listed in the starting lineup. It turned out he was late getting to the floor (the second time this has happened in his career), and Mike Conley got the emergency start instead.

“Nature calls, I guess,” coach Chris Finch told reporters in Dallas of Edwards’ delay in starting the game.

That was the only blip on the night for the Wolves, who looked sharp against the Mavericks in a 124-94 victory. Edwards had 17 points in his return from right knee inflammation that caused him to miss the previous six games. He played 22 minutes, 37 seconds, an indication he was on a minutes restriction.

But by returning against the Mavericks, he put himself in position to qualify for postseason awards if he can play in all seven remaining Wolves games this season.

“He was awesome. His defense was outstanding, just let the game come to him. Stayed aggressive, made quicker decisions,” Finch said. “I thought he was really good, I thought. And things look kind of easy for him as a result.”

Less than two years removed from beating the Wolves for the Western Conference championship, the Mavericks fell to 5-25 in their past 30 games.

Dosunmu gets second career triple-double

The Wolves aren’t completely healthy, as earlier in the day they announced Jaden McDaniels is out week to week because of left knee patella (kneecap) tendinopathy and a bone bruise. They might be without McDaniels for the rest of the regular season and perhaps the start of the playoffs.

Without him, Ayo Dosunmu returned from a two-game absence and got the start. Dosunmu injected his usual dose of pace into the offense. On one sequence in the second quarter, Dosunmu got the ball at half court, saw the Dallas defense jogging back and sprint dribbled to the bucket for a layup. The Wolves finished with 33 fast-break points.

“He started the game great, just playing with great speed with patience, found Rudy [Gobert],” Finch said. “Loved his pursuit of the ball in rebounding, his hustle plays. Stayed in the flow. Everything was in the flow ... Thought we played some of our best rhythm basketball for a while.”

He was all over the place on both ends of the floor, and that led to his second-career triple-double with 18 points, 15 rebounds and 12 assists. He became the 16th player in Wolves history to record a triple-double.

Dosunmu lit a spark that helped the Wolves build a double-digit lead in the first quarter and never look back in a wire-to-wire victory.

Dosunmu was on a tear before he went out because of right calf soreness; he had averaged 17.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 4.8 assists in the five games before his injury. He picked up right where he left off.

Randle comfortable at home

Dallas native Julius Randle looked at home again. He followed up a 31-point performance from earlier this season with another 24 points. But what was encouraging for the Wolves was the defensive effort he provided with McDaniels out.

Randle guarded Dallas rookie Cooper Flagg and was a big reason Flagg finished with four points on 2 for 11 as the Wolves built their lead in the first half.

Randle had 14 points as the Wolves led 56-46 at the half. For the night, he finished 9 for 14.

Wolves catch a break

In the second quarter, Rudy Gobert committed a foul on Flagg with 6 minutes, 20 seconds to play. Gobert’s right arm flailed back while going for a loose ball and hit Flagg in the face and caused Flagg to go to the ground. Officials called Gobert for a foul but opted not to review the play for a flagrant. The next flagrant foul Gobert gets would mean a two-game suspension.

The league can still review the play and assess a flagrant foul after the fact, but that is typically rare.

Up next

The Wolves have two days off before a Thursday game at Detroit, the team that blew them out at Target Center over the weekend. The Pistons played at Oklahoma City on Monday night in a matchup of the top teams in the East and West.

After Detroit, the Wolves play Friday in Philadelphia. Finch said he wasn’t sure if Edwards would rest in a back-to-back situation.

“I’ve not been told that he can’t,” Finch said. “We’ll see how he reacts to tonight’s minutes. That’s the most important thing.”

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