Wolves Rout Dallas by 39, Sixers Erase 17, Booker Closes Phoenix's Night

Four games were played in the NBA on Thursday night, and three of them went three completely different ways: the Wolves rout Dallas by 39 in Minneapolis, the Sixers erase a 17-point deficit to beat Toronto in Philadelphia, and Booker closes out Phoenix's win over Charlotte. The fourth game already belongs to history — Cade Cunningham's 52 points in Detroit's double-overtime win at Washington got its own story on Previously.

Minnesota 133, Dallas 94 — the guards did this

The Timberwolves were missing Anthony Edwards, still out after knee surgery. It did not matter at all. Minnesota beat Dallas 133-94 at Target Center for its fifth straight win, and the damage came from the two guards who were not supposed to carry a night like this.

Bones Hyland scored 24 points off the bench in 23 minutes, on 7-of-10 shooting and 5-of-6 from three, with eight assists. LaMelo Ball added 22 points and nine assists, going 6-of-10 from deep. Between them they shot 11-of-16 from three-point range; the rest of Minnesota's roster combined to go 4-of-16. Reuters noted the Timberwolves shot 57.8 percent from the field as a team and won the paint 74-42.

Dallas actually had this game for a moment. The Mavericks cut a 10-point deficit to 43-42 midway through the second quarter, and from there to the end of the third, Minnesota outscored them 60-27. The third quarter alone was 36-17, the lead reached 44 in the fourth, and the fourth quarter was a formality. Ayo Dosunmu scored 18, Jaden McDaniels had 16 points and nine rebounds, and Jonathan Kuminga added 14, eight rebounds and five assists.

For Dallas, Zaccharie Risacher led with 22 off the bench. Cooper Flagg was held to 12 points on 5-of-12 shooting with seven rebounds and three assists, and Kyrie Irving scored 10. The Mavericks shot 37.2 percent and had their three-game winning streak snapped in the first game of a three-game road trip that continues Saturday in Cleveland and Sunday in Boston. Minnesota is 9-3. Dallas falls to 7-5.

The full game is in the Game Center for Dallas at Minnesota, and the night's official highlights are below.

Philadelphia 123, Toronto 112 — down 17, then gone

Toronto hit five three-pointers in the first quarter, led by 17, and led 33-24 after one. Philadelphia spent the second quarter erasing all of it — a 36-27 quarter tied the game by halftime — and finished the job with an 11-0 run late in the third. Tyrese Maxey's finger roll with 2:23 left in the third put the Sixers ahead 87-85, and they never trailed again, winning 123-112 at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

Maxey finished with 27 points and eight assists, going 10-of-12 at the free-throw line. Joel Embiid added 20 points in 28 minutes — a notable line given that Embiid went down early with an apparent knee problem, left the floor, and checked back in to cheers at the 5:26 mark of the first quarter, as NBC Sports Philadelphia chronicled. Jaylen Brown scored 18, VJ Edgecombe posted 15 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, and reserves Anfernee Simons (17) and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (11) gave Philadelphia six players in double figures, per Field Level Media.

The Sixers did it without LeBron James, who sat out with low back and sciatica management. RJ Barrett carried Toronto with 31 points and 14 rebounds, and Immanuel Quickley added 26, but the Raptors' third straight loss drops them to 5-7. Philadelphia is 10-3 and hosts Indiana on Sunday afternoon.

Phoenix 101, Charlotte 96 — Booker takes the fourth

The Suns trailed after three quarters at home. Charlotte won the second and third quarters behind Coby White, who scored 21, and Naz Reid, who had 16 points and eight rebounds — and Phoenix's offense produced just 17 points in the third. Then Devin Booker took the fourth quarter personally.

Phoenix outscored Charlotte 29-20 in the fourth to win 101-96 at Mortgage Matchup Center. Booker finished with 30 points on 12-of-20 shooting, four three-pointers and seven assists. Dillon Brooks scored 15, Collin Gillespie 13, Jalen Green 12 and Miles Bridges 11. Grayson Allen, back in Phoenix as a Hornet, scored 14 with six assists for Charlotte, which played without Brandon Miller (groin). The Suns are 5-6; the Hornets are 4-8.

Cup Night Friday: the Knicks go to Indiana, the Warriors go to San Antonio, and the Thunder close at the Clippers

Friday is an NBA Cup night — nine group games, all of them counting in the regular-season standings too. The Knicks visit the Pacers and the Bucks visit the Magic in the early window. Atlanta is at Chicago, Cleveland at Miami, Memphis at New Orleans and Utah at Houston in the middle set. Golden State, without Stephen Curry, plays at San Antonio at 9:30 p.m. Eastern on Prime Video. Portland visits Sacramento, and Oklahoma City closes the night at the LA Clippers, with the Thunder missing Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams.

Scores, box scores and play-by-play for every game are in the Previously NBA hub as the night unfolds.