The Minnesota Timberwolves (26-16) and a weak and listless Cleveland Cavaliers (26-14) team made a quick trial and won 127:99. The guests from Ohio were completely without chance from the beginning and surrendered to their fate early on. Isaiah Thomas had to leave the court early in the third quarter after a 2-foul flagrant.
The hosts got off to a much better start. Cleveland took many early threes but did not hit anything. On the other hand, the Wolves were patiently running their sets. The replacement of the injured Jeff Teague, Tyus Jones, cut a good figure. LeBron James seemed strangely passive. With 4:39 minutes left in the first quarter, Cavs coach Ty Lue took his second time-out at 20:4.
It didn’t help much, even if the cavs at least attacked the zone better now. However, the defense continued to be non-existent. Even Minnesota’s thin bank was able to extend its lead to 21 points. As a result, the Cavs fiddled a little bit, but at the latest after a Dunk von Jones about James (before LeBron blocked the Guard fies away) the energy of the Wolves was back again. A deep threesome from Jimmy Butler with the siren was the icing on the cake for the strong Wolves halftime (69:42).
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There was little change after the switch. Butler remained brand hot, so frustration spread to the Cavs. Isaiah Thomas (9 points, 3 assists) beat Andrew Wiggins in the face on a drive. A Flagrant 2 was the result, IT was allowed to take a shower ahead of schedule. In the meantime, the Wolves led with 41 points, higher than ever before this season. So the game splashed away in the fourth quarter, but of course nothing changed at the end, Cleveland was still able to do some cosmetics.
Best scorer of the Wolves was Andrew Wiggins with 25 points, who played traditionally well against the Cavs that once drafted him. Karl-Anthony Towns (19.12 rebounds) and Taj Gibson (16.13) recorded double doubles, while Butler (21 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists) flirted with a triple double. The guests, on the other hand, suffered numerous total failures. LeBron also scored 10 points (4/8 FG), 8 rebounds and 5 assists, making LeBron one of his weaker games in his career. The best players came in Jeff Green (22) and Kyle Korver (19) from the bank.
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Jimmy Butler. Heart and soul of the Wolves. The shooting guard not only contained the circles of LeBron excellently, but also dominated the attack. The threesome fell efficiently (4/6 3FG), which also opened his way to the basket. Mostly he made the right decisions, whether to pass or throw and was at least in the haze of a triple double.
Kevin Love. It’s almost unfair to pick a player out of the listless Cavs team, but Love dropped the second stink bomb within a week (3 points, 1/7 FG, 2 rebounds) after playing in Boston (1/11 FG). The center was booed passionately against its former team and seemed to be visibly uncertain after a few misses. In the defense he was completely helpless against both Towns and Gibson and was also taken on the poster by both of them. Also catastrophic: J. R. Smith.
Regular Season? Doesn’t know Tom Thibodeau. It seemed that the Wolves are playing a playoff game here. Thibs also adapted his rotations for this. Usually, for example, wiggins is allowed to lead the reservists at the end of the first quarter. But this time Butler also stood on the court, as this LeBron was supposed to follow him every step of the way. Of course, he did that excellently. It was no coincidence that they both later appeared at the writing table at the same time; incidentally, Towns was still on the field for the Wolves with a 35-point lead at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Only 8 minutes before the end he was allowed to go home.