Timberwolves fade against Cavaliers in second game of back-to-back

Marcus Fuller, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Jan 19, 2025

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MINNEAPOLIS — Chris Finch was concerned about how his Minnesota Timberwolves would handle back-to-back games coming off a road trip — and doing it against one of the NBA’s hottest teams Saturday night at Target Center.

The Cleveland Cavaliers showed up at the end of a three-game road swing exuding the same “youthful spirit” that was part of the team’s identity during a league-best 35-6 start, Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said.

The Timberwolves were coming off an emotionally charged win Friday, the Cavaliers off a rare loss Thursday.

The Wolves saw some early carryover from Friday’s 17-point payback victory at the New York Knicks, posting a double-figure first-quarter lead Saturday, but that spark fizzled in a 124-117 loss to the Cavaliers.

Julius Randle finished one assist shy of a triple-double with 20 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists for the Wolves (22-20).

Anthony Edwards had a team-high 28 points, but he didn’t appear to have the same juice after an 11-point first-quarter performance that made him the third-youngest player in NBA history to reach 8,000 points. The other two players were LeBron James and Kevin Durant, which put a smile on his face when Edwards watched the graphic pop up on the videoboard at halftime.

The joy in his expression didn’t last into the second half, though, after a missed dunk attempt on Jarrett Allen failed to draw a foul. Edwards barked at the nearest official for a few seconds just before Cleveland drilled a 3-pointer on the other end.

The Wolves' starters had trouble with slow starts previously this season, including with Edwards at New York. But he turned a 1 for 8 first quarter around to finish with a team-high 36 points that night. The opposite happened for Edwards and company Saturday — they just appeared too fatigued to finish strong.

The Wolves jumped out to an 11-point lead late in the first quarter after they shot 7 for 10 from three-point range, including Edwards' 3-for-4 shooting in the period from distance.

But Minnesota finally cooled off with eight straight misses from beyond the arc. The Cavs showed why they’ve been so consistent this season while putting together a 23-7 run to briefly take control in the second quarter behind Donovan Mitchell, who had 22 of his 36 points in the first half.

Cleveland threatened go into halftime with a slight advantage, but Naz Reid connected with a wide open Rudy Gobert for a reverse slam to tie it 60-60 at the break. Gobert had 15 points and 10 rebounds through two quarters, but he was held to two points in the second half.

The Cavaliers, who set a franchise record with a 15-0 start this year, had lost back-to-back games only once this season, to the Atlanta Hawks in late November.

That was clearly not in the cards in Minneapolis after Cleveland answered a rally by the home team after halftime.

Following a scoreless second quarter, Edwards made his first basket of the second half at the 10:25 mark in the third quarter. That didn’t do much to scare the Cavs, but Randle soon after helped give the Wolves their last lead.

Randle had five points during a 7-0 run that was capped by his layup to make it 74-73 Minnesota with 5:20 remaining in the third quarter.

On the ensuing possession, the Wolves twice forced errant shots, but they couldn’t finish with a rebound. Darius Garland, who had 27 points, scored after two offensive boards and put the Cavs up for good, 75-74.

The game didn’t seem out of reach yet, but Cleveland pulled away with a 26-5 run, which included a 99-79 lead at about the 10-minute mark in the fourth quarter on a Mitchell jumper.

The Cavs were playing without starters Evan Mobley and Isaac Okoro, who were active in Thursday’s 134-113 loss at the Oklahoma City Thunder.

It was the second straight game for Minnesota without injured guard Donte DiVincenzo, who had 28 points in last week’s home loss against the Golden State Warriors.

Technical taken back

A technical foul called on Edwards at the end of the second quarter of the New York game was rescinded after league office review earlier Saturday.

The Wolves' All-Star guard has nine technical fouls this season. He nearly picked up his 10th Saturday while twice staring down officials after heavy contact in the third quarter.

But Edwards acting on his frustrations seems to be the least of his head coach’s worries right now.

“He’s always had the ability to kind of course correct in temper,” Finch said in his pregame news conference.

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