NBA-leading Cavaliers seize control in the 2nd half and beat Timberwolves 124-117
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Donovan Mitchell scored 36 points, Darius Garland added 29 and the NBA-leading Cleveland Cavaliers took control in the second half and beat the Minnesota Timberwolves for a 124-117 on Saturday night.
With the teams tied at halftime, Cleveland (35-6) outscored Minnesota by 10 in the third quarter and opened the fourth with a 10-0 run to seize control.
Anthony Edwards scored 28 points and Julius Randle finished with 20 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists for Minnesota.
Cleveland was without forward Evan Mobley, who sat with right calf soreness, and Isaac Okoro, sidelined with a right AC joint sprain. Both played in Thursday’s loss to Oklahoma City.
Minnesota was also missing a key player as guard Donte DiVincenzo sat for the second straight game with a left great toe sprain.
Edwards became the third-youngest player in NBA history to score 8,000 points. Only LeBron James and Kevin Durant reached 8,000 points at a younger age than Edwards.
Cavaliers: Cleveland responded well after its biggest loss of the year, a 20-point rout by the Thunder on Thursday. The Cavs' win prevented what would have been just their second two-game losing streak of the season.
Timberwolves: Minnesota seemed to run out of gas after halftime on the second night of a back-to-back after beating the Knicks on Friday in New York. The Wolves are 2-4 this season in the second game of back-to-backs.
Ty Jerome scored six straight points to end the third quarter, including a three-point play with 4.1 seconds remaining in the quarter, to give Cavaliers a 10-point lead. Minnesota couldn't recover from that double-digit deficit as the momentum swung in Cleveland's direction.
Cleveland had 15-point efforts from bench players Ty Jerome and Georges Niang.
Both teams play Monday. The Cavaliers host Phoenix, while the Timberwolves play at Memphis.
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| Time | Team | Play | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12:00 |  | Â | Jarrett Allen vs. Rudy Gobert (Caris LeVert gains possession) | Â |
| 11:43 |  | +2 | Donovan Mitchell makes two point driving finger roll layup (Jarrett Allen assists) | 2-0 |
| 11:21 | | +3 | Anthony Edwards makes three point jump shot (Julius Randle assists) | 2-3 |
| 11:08 | | Â | Donovan Mitchell misses three point jump shot | Â |
| 11:06 | | Â | Mike Conley defensive rebound | Â |
| 10:59 | | Â | Anthony Edwards misses three point pullup jump shot | Â |
| 10:56 | | Â | Jaden McDaniels offensive rebound | Â |
| 10:49 | | +3 | Mike Conley makes three point pullup jump shot | 2-6 |
| 10:37 | | Â | Darius Garland misses two point driving floating bank jump shot | Â |
| 10:35 | | Â | Rudy Gobert defensive rebound | Â |
| 10:24 | | Â | Anthony Edwards turnover (bad pass) (Dean Wade steals) | Â |
| 10:19 | | +2 | Donovan Mitchell makes two point running finger roll layup | 4-6 |
| 10:11 | | +2 | Jaden McDaniels makes two point cutting dunk (Julius Randle assists) | 4-8 |
| 9:54 | | Â | Darius Garland misses two point driving floating jump shot | Â |
| 9:52 | | Â | Jarrett Allen offensive rebound | Â |
| 9:52 | | +2 | Jarrett Allen makes two point hook shot | 6-8 |
| 9:30 | | +2 | Rudy Gobert makes two point alley-oop layup (Mike Conley assists) | 6-10 |
| 9:18 | | +2 | Darius Garland makes two point driving floating jump shot | 8-10 |
| 9:00 | | Â | Mike Conley misses three point stepback jump shot | Â |
| 8:57 | | Â | Donovan Mitchell defensive rebound | Â |
| 8:48 | | Â | Donovan Mitchell misses three point pullup jump shot | Â |
| 8:48 | | Â | Caris LeVert offensive rebound | Â |
| 8:43 | | Â | Dean Wade misses three point jump shot | Â |
| 8:41 | | Â | Julius Randle defensive rebound | Â |
| 8:33 | | Â | Caris LeVert shooting foul (Anthony Edwards draws the foul) | Â |
| 8:33 | | +1 | Anthony Edwards makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 8-11 |
| 8:33 | | +1 | Anthony Edwards makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 8-12 |
| 8:23 | | Â | Donovan Mitchell misses two point turnaround fadeaway jump shot | Â |
| 8:20 | | Â | Julius Randle defensive rebound | Â |
| 8:13 | | +3 | Mike Conley makes three point stepback jump shot (Julius Randle assists) | 8-15 |
| 8:11 | | Â | Cavaliers 60 second timeout | Â |
| 7:59 | | Â | Darius Garland misses two point pullup jump shot | Â |
| 7:58 | | Â | Dean Wade offensive rebound | Â |
| 7:57 | | Â | Georges Niang misses three point pullup jump shot | Â |
| 7:56 | | Â | Dean Wade offensive rebound | Â |
| 7:56 | | +2 | Dean Wade makes two point tip dunk | 10-15 |
| 7:38 | | +2 | Julius Randle makes two point pullup jump shot (Anthony Edwards assists) | 10-17 |
| 7:29 | | +3 | Donovan Mitchell makes three point pullup jump shot (Darius Garland assists) | 13-17 |
| 7:14 | | Â | Anthony Edwards misses two point stepback jump shot | Â |
| 7:14 | | Â | Donovan Mitchell defensive rebound | Â |
| 7:04 | | Â | Caris LeVert misses three point jump shot | Â |
| 7:01 | | Â | Julius Randle defensive rebound | Â |
| 6:41 | | Â | Jaden McDaniels misses two point driving floating jump shot | Â |
| 6:37 | | Â | Dean Wade defensive rebound | Â |
| 6:30 | | Â | Max Strus misses three point jump shot | Â |
| 6:27 | | Â | Jaden McDaniels defensive rebound | Â |
| 6:19 | | +3 | Anthony Edwards makes three point running jump shot (Julius Randle assists) | 13-20 |
| 5:59 | | +3 | Darius Garland makes three point stepback jump shot | 16-20 |
| 5:49 | | Â | Georges Niang personal foul (Julius Randle draws the foul) | Â |
| 5:39 | | +3 | Naz Reid makes three point jump shot (Jaden McDaniels assists) | 16-23 |
| 5:21 | | +2 | Jarrett Allen makes two point cutting layup (Darius Garland assists) | 18-23 |
| 5:11 | | Â | Nickeil Alexander-Walker misses three point jump shot | Â |
| 5:06 | | Â | Caris LeVert defensive rebound | Â |
| 4:56 | | Â | Caris LeVert misses two point driving layup | Â |
| 4:55 | | Â | Cavaliers offensive rebound | Â |
| 4:46 | | Â | Caris LeVert misses three point jump shot | Â |
| 4:44 | | Â | Julius Randle defensive rebound | Â |
| 4:33 | | +3 | Anthony Edwards makes three point stepback jump shot | 18-26 |
| 4:30 | | Â | Cavaliers 60 second timeout | Â |
| 4:20 | | Â | Max Strus misses three point jump shot | Â |
| 4:16 | | Â | Rudy Gobert defensive rebound | Â |
| 3:57 | | +3 | Naz Reid makes three point stepback jump shot | 18-29 |
| 3:46 | | +2 | Ty Jerome makes two point driving floating bank jump shot | 20-29 |
| 3:46 | | Â | Rudy Gobert shooting foul (Ty Jerome draws the foul) | Â |
| 3:46 | | Â | Ty Jerome misses regular free throw 1 of 1 | Â |
| 3:44 | | Â | Rudy Gobert defensive rebound | Â |
| 3:31 | | Â | Anthony Edwards misses three point jump shot | Â |
| 3:28 | | Â | Georges Niang defensive rebound | Â |
| 3:12 | | +3 | Georges Niang makes three point jump shot (Ty Jerome assists) | 23-29 |
| 2:58 | | Â | Nickeil Alexander-Walker misses three point jump shot | Â |
| 2:54 | | Â | Donovan Mitchell defensive rebound | Â |
| 2:48 | | Â | Rob Dillingham shooting foul (Donovan Mitchell draws the foul) | Â |
| 2:48 | | +1 | Donovan Mitchell makes regular free throw 1 of 3 | 24-29 |
| 2:48 | | +1 | Donovan Mitchell makes regular free throw 2 of 3 | 25-29 |
| 2:48 | | +1 | Donovan Mitchell makes regular free throw 3 of 3 | 26-29 |
| 2:36 | | Â | Rob Dillingham misses three point jump shot | Â |
| 2:33 | | Â | Max Strus defensive rebound | Â |
| 2:24 | | Â | Dean Wade misses three point jump shot | Â |
| 2:20 | | Â | Rudy Gobert defensive rebound | Â |
| 2:01 | | Â | Dean Wade shooting foul (Rudy Gobert draws the foul) | Â |
| 2:01 | | +1 | Rudy Gobert makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 26-30 |
| 2:01 | | Â | Rudy Gobert misses regular free throw 2 of 2 | Â |
| 1:58 | | Â | Georges Niang defensive rebound | Â |
| 1:48 | | Â | Ty Jerome misses two point driving layup | Â |
| 1:45 | | Â | Rudy Gobert defensive rebound | Â |
| 1:36 | | Â | Dean Wade kicked ball violation | Â |
| 1:30 | | Â | Rob Dillingham misses three point jump shot | Â |
| 1:28 | | Â | Nickeil Alexander-Walker offensive rebound | Â |
| 1:28 | | Â | Nickeil Alexander-Walker misses two point tip layup | Â |
| 1:27 | | Â | Georges Niang defensive rebound | Â |
| 1:12 | | +3 | Dean Wade makes three point jump shot (Donovan Mitchell assists) | 29-30 |
| 0:58 | | +2 | Naz Reid makes two point floating jump shot (Nickeil Alexander-Walker assists) | 29-32 |
| 0:40 | | Â | Dean Wade misses three point jump shot | Â |
| 0:36 | | Â | Rudy Gobert defensive rebound | Â |
| 0:26 | | Â | Naz Reid misses three point jump shot | Â |
| 0:22 | | Â | Donovan Mitchell defensive rebound | Â |
| 0:04 | | Â | Donovan Mitchell turnover (out of bounds lost ball) | Â |
| 0:00 | | Â | Rob Dillingham misses two point pullup jump shot | Â |
| 0:00 | | Â | Timberwolves offensive rebound | Â |
| 0:00 | | Â | End of period | Â |