(My Sportsbook) - Not that there's ever a right time for a slide, but the Minnesota Timberwolves are slumping at the wrong time.

The T'wolves, who so desperately need to have home-court in order to break their first-round jinx, have dropped their last three games to remain in the No. 5 spot in the Western Conference. Minnesota has only seven games left in the regular season to overtake Portland for the home-court edge.

Fortunately, the Trail Blazers haven't fared much better recently, losing three of their last four games. The Blazers currently own just a one-half game lead over Minnesota for the fourth position in the conference. Both teams are starting to feel heat from the teams below them, as the sixth-seeded Jazz are only two games behind the T'wolves, while the Lakers are three games off the pace.

If Sunday was any indication, the T'wolves are going to have trouble capturing the fourth position. The top-seeded Dallas Mavericks came into the Target Center and humiliated Minnesota by posting a 119-95 victory.

The Mavs, who led by as much as 36 in the contest, shot a blazing 56 percent from the field, including 11-of-23 from three-point range, and totaled 39 assists. Six Dallas players scored in double figures, led by Dirk Nowitzki's 33. Nowitzki made 6-of-10 three-point attempts and shot 13-of-20 overall.

"I don't know if they were so good offensively or we were so bad (defensively), or if it was a combination of both," Minnesota coach Flip Saunders said. "They played extremely well. They played with more of a mental edge early, and set the tone of the game right away. They knew the importance of the game. We knew the importance of the game, but they got us back on our heels."

The Wolves, who are once again looking like a one-man team, managed to shoot just 43 percent. Kevin Garnett was the team's only solid contributor on Sunday, collecting 24 points and 11 rebounds. Garnett has led the team in scoring and rebounding in each of the past three games.

Wally Szczerbiak struggled for Minnesota, scoring just eight points on 2-of-11 shooting from the floor.

"The shots aren't falling right now, and we just need to get back at it Wednesday," Szczerbiak said. "We need to get back to the fundamentals on defense and communicate. We need to stop giving up easy baskets. We need to use these couple of days off to figure things out and correct them."

The Wolves host the Seattle SuperSonics on Wednesday before embarking on a three-game road trip. The swing features a huge game in Portland on April 6. Minnesota holds a 2-1 edge over the Blazers this year, meaning a win in their last meeting would give the Wolves the tie-breaker should the teams be knotted at the end of the regular season.