Wolves win without KG

DALLAS (AP) -- The Dallas Mavericks have little hope of winning when they get combined 5-for-29 shooting from Michael Finley and Dirk Nowitzki.

That proved to be true even when the Minnesota Timberwolves played without leading scorer and rebounder Kevin Garnett because of a death in his family.

Finley went 3-for-19 from the field and Nowitzki was 2-for-10, helping the Timberwolves earn a 117-100 victory over the Mavericks on Tuesday night.

"We didn't shoot the ball well, and our defense lately has been brutal," Nowitzki said. "We can't stop anyone. Our man-to-man defense lately is terrible. We've got to go back to basics, keep them in front of us and make them shoot tough shots."

That's exactly what Chauncey Billups and Wally Szczerbiak did for the Timberwolves, who lost eight of their previous 11 meetings with the Mavericks.