Steve Nash nearly bailed the Mavs out twice in the final frantic seconds, but both of his tries, including a jumper at the buzzer, didn't find the the net and Minnesota held on for a 113-111 victory before a sellout crowd of 19,668 at the Target Center.

"We had two great shots," Mavericks coach Don Nelson said. "It just wasn't meant to be tonight."

For the second time in three nights, the Mavericks faced a double-digit deficit on the road. They rallied to win the first time. They weren't as lucky with the Timberwolves. The loss dropped the Mavericks (49-22) to 1-1 on their four-game road trip and back into a first-place tie with idle San Antonio in the Midwest Division. The trek continues tonight against another playoff-caliber opponent, Boston, and concludes Sunday at Washington.