The Minnesota Timberwolves came into Friday night’s game looking to end their four-game losing streak. That was not to be, as former Timberwolves star Kevin Love returned to Target Center and scored 20 points, along with nine rebounds and four assists, while J.R. Smith scored a season-high 27 points to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 125-99 victory over the Wolves.
The win was the fifth straight win for Cleveland, while the Wolves are now on a five game losing streak.
The Timberwolves were led by Andrew Wiggins, who scored a career-high 35 points, while Shabazz Muhammad and Karl-Anthony Towns both scored 22 points, but it was not enough as the Cavaliers easily cruised past the Timberwolves.
The Wolves did have a lead early in the game, as they held a 17-13 advantage over the Cavaliers with 5:37 left in the first quarter, but Cleveland outscored Minnesota 22-10 to finish the quarter and never looked back. The 35 points that the Cavaliers scored in the first quarter is the most that they have scored in the first quarter all season.
Outside of Wiggins, Muhammad and Towns, no Timberwolves player scored more than eight points, which was a big reason that the score was so lopsided. The loss is the fifth in a row and the ninth in the last 10 games for a young Wolves team that started the season on a positive note, with fans initially optimistic that this would be the turnaround season after years of losing.
Head coach Sam Mitchell, who took over after Flip Saunders passed away, has tried just about everything to shake the losing, including multiple team meetings over the last week but nothing seems to be working.
Love made his second trip to Minnesota since being traded in 2014 to Cleveland after he spent his first six seasons in Minnesota. While his first time back was filled with boos from fans that remembered his final season as a season where he was looking forward to leaving, but tonight’s game only saw a few boos, mostly from fans that were only doing it out of obligation.
Kyrie Irving scored 13 points in 26 minutes in just his eighth game back after a knee injury that he suffered during last season’s NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors. Point guard Mo Williams did not play for Cleveland for the eighth straight game due to a thumb injury.
LeBron James finished with 13 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists. Iman Shumpert would come off the bench for Cleveland and score 23 points and record four steals.
Up Next
The Timberwolves now will remain in Minnesota to host Dallas on Sunday, while Cleveland will now travel to Philadelphia for a matchup with the 76ers, which will take place on Sunday as well.
The Timberwolves game on Sunday against Dallas had the time changed from a 2:30 p.m. start to a 4 p.m. start. The change was made due to the Minnesota Vikings playoff game at noon, with fans wanting to see both events.