Timberwolves Wrap: Wolves fall short in loss to Cavs

The Timberwolves trailed by as many as 15 points in the second half but pulled within one possession in the closing minutes before ultimately losing, 114-107.

The Wolves played well on Monday night in Cleveland, but it wasn’t enough to stay on top of the sluggish, surprisingly disinterested Cavaliers.

Minnesota trailed by just three points at the end of the first quarter and four at halftime. The Timberwolves’ defensive plan to slow down the Cavs’ Big Three plus J.R. Smith worked much better than earlier in the month at Target Center, as Kyrie Irving and Smith combined to shoot just 10 of 32 from the field.

Or, it at least slowed down that half of the four best players on Cleveland’s roster. Kevin Love was 5 of 11 from the floor and LeBron James shot 11 of 15. The King also dished out nine assists and grabbed four rebounds while committing five turnovers.

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The Wolves didn’t get quite the performance that many have come to expect from Andrew Wiggins against the organization that drafted him, and while he did score 20 points on 7 of 14 shooting he only pulled down one rebound and handed out one assist.

Karl-Anthony Towns kept the Wolves in the game early and late with another spectacular game, and Zach LaVine was the second-best player on the court for Minnesota on this night.

With Kevin Garnett (sore knee) and Kevin Martin (sore wrist) unavailable, Sam Mitchell shortened his bench and played just nine players, leading to 30 minutes for LaVine and 26 minutes from Shabazz Muhammad.

The Wolves had a horrible third quarter and fell behind by as many as 15 points before the Cavs became sloppy and a lineup of Ricky Rubio, LaVine, Wiggins, Muhammad, and Towns pulled to within six with 1:51 left in the game and got the deficit down to just three points with 16.1 seconds remaining before James clinched the game with a pair of free throws.

Tweet of the Night

Clip of the Night

Star of the Night

Karl-Anthony Towns – 26 points (11-16 FG, 0-1 3P, 4-5 FT), 11 rebounds, 4 assists, one block, one steal, 2 turnovers

It’s impossible to overstate just how good Towns has been in his rookie season. His entire game was once again on display on Monday night in Cleveland, from post moves to defense to activity on the glass and savvy in making himself available for dishes in the lane from LaVine and Rubio.

Towns is your NBA Rookie of the Year, ladies and gentlemen.

Other Notable Timberwolves Lines

Ricky Rubio – 4 points (2-7 FG, 0-1 3P), 10 assists, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, one turnover

Shabazz Muhammad – 10 points (5-13 FG, 0-2 3P), 3 rebounds, 3 assists, one steal

Andrew Wiggins – 20 points (7-14 FG, 1-3 3P, 5-6 FT), one rebound, one assist, 2 steals, one block, 2 turnovers

Again, Wiggins played a game-high 38 minutes and pulled down exactly one more rebound than I did from my couch. That simply cannot keep happening.

Who’s Got Next?

The Timberwolves head back to Minneapolis for the third game against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the past three weeks. Maybe, just maybe, the third time is the charge for the Wolves against Kevin Durant‘s crew.

Next: Is David Blatt a Coaching Possibility for Timberwolves?

It’s an important game if for no other reason than the Timberwolves head out west for a four-game road trip beginning with Friday night in Salt Lake City. The Wolves are playing pretty well, from the win over Memphis on Saturday to the solid performance against the Cavs on Monday, and a win over the Thunder on Wednesday would be huge.