Final Score: Minnesota 83, Dallas 82

Dallas, TX (Sports Network) - Kevin Garnett made two free throws with five seconds remaining to end his scoreless fourth quarter, lifting the Minnesota Timberwolves to an 83-82 come-from-behind win over the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center.

Garnett finished one assist away from a triple-double with 21 points, 17 rebounds and nine helpers. Sam Cassell added 16 points for the Timberwolves, who overcame a 12-point deficit in the final 4 1/2 minutes for their fourth victory in five games.

"It was just one of those grind it out kind of games," said Minnesota head coach Flip Saunders. "We told the players the Mavericks were going to play hard. To our credit, we didn't get too frustrated."

Dallas was without its two best players in Dirk Nowitzki and Michael Finley, but still managed to hold the lead for most of the game. Josh Howard had a game-high 22 points with eight rebounds while rookie point guard Devin Harris scored 14. Marquis Daniels struggled with his shot (5-for-18), but still managed a solid all-around game with 11 points, 10 boards and five assists.

Nowitzki and Finley are both out with sprained ankles. Nowitzki hurt his left ankle in Sunday's loss to the Denver Nuggets and is expected to miss 7-to-10 days. Finley went on the injured list last Thursday with a sprain to his right ankle.

Minnesota didn't grab its first lead of the night until there were 28 seconds left in the third quarter when Garnett's layup made it 62-60.

A pair of free throws by Howard squared the game at 62 heading into the fourth, and the score was still even three minutes later until a 12-0 run by Dallas.

Allen Henderson ignited the surge with back-to-back buckets, and Howard contributed seven points to give the Mavericks a 79-67 lead with 4:27 left.

The Wolves wouldn't go away quietly and answered with a 10-2 spurt to get back in the game. Latrell Sprewell completed a three-point play and hit a jumper the next time up the floor to narrow the gap to 81-74.

After a miss by Harris, Wally Szczerbiak finished off a three-point play of his own to pull Minnesota within 81-77 with 2:39 to go.

Jerry Stackhouse made 1-of-2 from the line with 93 seconds remaining, representing Dallas' only scoring in the final three minutes.

Cassell drove to the hoop shortly after for a layup and an 82-79 deficit, and the Mavericks missed two shots from in close at the other end.

Szczerbiak's lay-in with 44 ticks left made it a one-point game.

Harris missed another on Dallas' next possession and Garnett was fouled by Henderson with five seconds to go. The Mavericks tried to ice Garnett with a timeout between free throws, but the strategy didn't work. Last year's MVP, 0- for-3 from the field with a turnover in the fourth quarter, knocked it down with ease to put Minnesota ahead for good.

Dallas had one last chance to win it and put the ball in Stackhouse's hands out of a timeout. But Trenton Hassell was there to knock away the jumper and thwart the buzzer beater.

"This was a game we could have won and should have won," said Mavericks head coach Don Nelson. "We had a couple of terrible mistakes at the end that cost us the game."

The Mavs led by as much as 15 after a 14-2 burst in the first quarter. They were outscored 20-14 in the second and led by three, 43-40, at the half.

Minnesota also erased a 14-point deficit in the third period with a 15-3 flurry.

Game Notes

Dallas has now dropped three of its last four games after starting the season 7-1...The teams had split the previous 14 meetings coming into tonight...Minnesota turned the ball over 18 times, compared to just seven for Dallas.

11/23 00:01:45 ET