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DALLAS -- There are big wins and there's what the Dallas Mavericks did to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday night. "This was a mature win for us," Mavericks small forward Chandler Parsons said. "We haven't had many of these games where we could blowout a team. We've gotten big leads, but we let the team get back in. This was huge for us."
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Parsons scored 29, and the Mavericks pulled away early and pounded the Wolves 128-101 at American Airlines Center.
Dallas (32-28) remained tied with the Portland Trail Blazers for sixth place in the Western Conference. The Mavericks improved to 2-1 halfway through their season-high, six-game homestand after recording their largest margin of victory this season.
The Mavericks understand that taking care of bottom-feeders such as Minnesota is key to staying in the playoff race.
"It's so competitive that every single game matters as we finish the season," Parsons said.
He hit 10 of 15 shots, including four of seven 3-pointers, in 27 minutes. Parsons grabbed six rebounds and dished four assists despite sitting out the fourth quarter with the Mavericks comfortably ahead.
Dallas shooting guard Wesley Matthews hit three 3-pointers and scored 15 points. Power forward Dirk Nowitzki had 10 points -- all in the first quarter -- and guard Deron Williams added 10 points and nine assists.
Three Mavericks reserves scored in double digits -- forward David Lee (13), guard J.J. Barea (12) and guard Justin Anderson (10). Lee also had nine boards.
The Mavericks shot 52.8 percent.
The Timberwolves, undermanned due to a rash of injuries and recently waiving veteran guard Andre Miller, dropped to 19-41 overall, 0-3 against Dallas this season. Minnesota, playing on the second half of a back-to-back, is 9-21 on the road.
"There's nobody in that locker room right now that we can rest," Wolves coach Sam Mitchell said.
Small forward Shabazz Muhammad led the Wolves with 24 points off the bench. Rookie of the Year favorite Karl-Anthony Towns had 12 points and 11 rebounds for his 34th double-double.
Minnesota shooting guard Andrew Wiggins scored 15, point guard Ricky Rubio had 10 points and five assists, and shooting guard Zach LaVine scored 10 and had nine rebounds.
Towns was the only Minnesota starter to hit at least half of his shots. The Wolves shot 37.8 percent as a team.
"Well, we're tired," Mitchell said. "Couldn't make free throws, we just were a step slow tonight, we're just tired. We've got nine guys. We've been playing (Gorgui Dieng) and (Towns) and Andrew and Zach, Ricky -- we're playing these guys 38-minutes a night. We've got to get some help."
The Mavericks opened with their usual starting lineup, which included center Zaza Pachulia, despite going small in the second half and overtime of Friday's comeback win over Denver. Pachulia played only eight first-half minutes against the Nuggets.
Dallas' starters were on point, and the Mavericks raced out to a double-figure lead five minutes into the game. The Mavericks were up 20 late in the first quarter and never trailed.
"The key to the game was the starters getting off to a great start in the beginning of the game and the beginning of the second half," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "Parsons had a huge impact game offensively, which carried us once Dirk got in foul trouble. We went to him a lot and he delivered."
Parsons had a string of 13 consecutive points in the third quarter, as Dallas went up 25 going into the fourth.
Dallas gets another sub-.500 squad Tuesday night with the Orlando Magic coming to town. The Wolves return to Minneapolis for a Wednesday game against the Washington Wizards before hitting the road again.
NOTES: Dallas owner Mark Cuban recently suggested the league should consider moving back the 3-point line. Asked before the game how that may impact Golden State PG Steph Curry, Cuban replied: "It makes guys like that more valuable, not less." ... Minnesota continues to work on a buyout of SG Kevin Martin's contract, according to reports. Martin must be waived by Tuesday to be eligible for the playoffs with another team. ... The Mavericks, tied for sixth with Portland in the West playoff standings entering Sunday, have a goal when it comes to positioning. "We're trying to get that fifth seed, make a run here and be playing the best basketball we have down the stretch," Parsons said.
