The Cleveland Cavaliers (31-12) held on Wednesday night to defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves (14-32) at Quicken Loans Arena, 114-107.
The Cavaliers took an eight-point lead into the fourth quarter and led by as many as 15 in the final frame, but a furious comeback effort by the Wolves closed the gap to 94-91 with just 6:05 to go. The Cavaliers responded with a 7-0 run that seemed like it would ice the game for sure, but another run from the Timberwolves closed the gap to 110-107 with just 16 seconds to play. A pair of LeBron James free throws and two missed three-pointers by the Wolves on the other end finally sealed the win for Cleveland.
James finished with 25 points to lead the Cavaliers on a brutally efficient 11-15 shooting night. He completed his offensive dominance with a game-high nine assists, and he added four rebounds, a steal and a block. Tristan Thompson was a wrecking ball inside, as he scored 19 points on 8-10 shooting and pulled down 12 rebounds (seven offensive). Matthew Dellevadova scored 18 as he knocked down four three-pointers, and he added seven assists to serve as a spark off the bench.
Karl-Anthony Towns was fantastic in the losing effort, as he scored 26 points on 11-16 shooting and grabbed 11 rebounds for his third double-double in the past four contests. Andrew Wiggins added 20 and Zach Lavine came off the bench with an electric 21 points, six assists and four rebounds. The Wolves just couldn't get anything going from the three-point line — 4-16 compared to Cleveland's 11-31 — and that proved to be the difference.
Minnesota will return home to face the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday. Cleveland continues their homestand Wednesday against Phoenix.
