Kevin Love scored 20 points and grabbed ten rebounds to go along with four assists in his first ever game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, and the Big Three of Love, LeBron James, and Kyrie Irving combined to score 73 in the Cavs’ 125-104 victory over our Wolves.
Anytime your team loses by 21 points it can be classified as a blowout, but in truth the Wolves were very much in this ballgame until the Cavs turned on the jets at the end of the third with a 16-1 run. Up until that point it was 80-78 and it looked like the Wolves were getting under the skin of the contending Cavaliers. Sure, it was less than three quarters of competitive basketball, but when your team has only won five games all season, you’ve got to find the positives whenever possible.
Speaking of positives, nobody shined brighter for the Wolves than Andrew Wiggins. He scored 27 points and unleashed an aggression that has been absent from his past several games. I guess when you’re playing against the greatest player on the planet who didn’t want you on his team (LeBron) and against the player he wanted instead of you (Love), you probably don’t need any motivation to get ready to play. I wish he would play as hard as he did tonight all of the time, but still, it was pretty sweet to see him rise to the occasion against the brightest stars in the league.
Kevin Love wasn’t half bad either. Despite missing a bunny on Cleveland’s first possession of the game, Love managed to make an early impact, scoring seven in the first quarter. He had an injury scare in the third quarter when his right hand smashed into Gorgui Dieng’s Elbow near the baseline, but luckily for Love it wasn’t a season killing injury like the one he endured with the Wolves in the 2012-13 season, and he was back later in the quarter.
Speaking of Gorgui, he had one of his finest games of the season, collecting 20 points, 11 boards, three blocks, and four steals. He was unable to slow down Cleveland’s high powered attack, but he made great decisions with the basketball and continued to show nice touch away from the hoop.
Shabazz Muhammad continued to ‘Bazz like his typical Bazzy self. He scored 18 and grabbed six rebounds. Nothing really out of the ordinary tonight, just the usual hustle and knack around the basket that we’ve grown accustomed to. Still, it’s a welcome sight ‘round these parts. Keep on Bazzing, Bazzy.
Now on to the not so good. I’m talking about you Anthony Bennett. He came into the game firing shots like the ball was the plague or something. After taking and missing three quick shots, his confidence was destroyed. He brought nothing of value to game from that point onward. Disappointing considering this was Bennett’s chance to stick it to the team that traded him after only one season.
Overall, this was a fun basketball game. The Wolves got beat by the better team, but we got 30 minutes of competitive basketball, and that’s a heck of a lot more than we get some nights. Kevin Love may have got the best of us tonight, but we’ll get another crack at him at Target Center with our full squad, so I’m not too worried about it.
We’re down to 5-22 on the season. The Wolves have the next few days off for Christmas, and then they’ll fly out to Denver to take on the Nuggets Friday night.
Until next time, you keep it Bazzy, Minnesota.
Oh, and Merry Christmas!