Monta Ellis scored 23 points and the Dallas Mavericks staved off a late comeback attempt from the Minnesota Timberwolves to hold on for a 100-94 win.
The Mavericks led from start to finish in their first game since point guard Rajon Rondo fractured his nose and orbital bone in Saturday's victory at Orlando, though they had to dig deep down the stretch as Minnesota cut a 21- point first-half deficit down to two with under two minutes remaining.
Boosted by Ricky Rubio's long-awaited return from a serious ankle injury, the Timberwolves pulled within 96-94 with 1:52 left before missing their final four shots.
Chandler Parsons added 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting for Dallas after missing two games due to illness, with Dirk Nowitzki going 7-of-10 from the field in a 16-point effort.
Rubio finished with 10 points in 21 minutes in his first action since Nov. 7. Kevin Martin paced Minnesota with 19 points and Andrew Wiggins netted 14, though the star rookie was held to a 4-of-14 effort from the floor.
[SportsNetwork.com]
