Timberwolves Wrap: Wolves destroy Cavaliers

The Timberwolves played their best single half of the season on Monday night while thoroughly dominating LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The times, they are a’changing down at 600 First Avenue.

The Timberwolves won by 28 points on Monday night over the Cavaliers but led by as many as 41 points in the second half. Somewhere between the Tyus Jones fastbreak dunk with LeBron James in his wake and the buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Jimmy Butler at the end of the first half that extended the Wolves lead to 69-42, it became evident that things are finally, officially headed in the right direction at Target Center.

Minnesota jumped out to a 20-4 lead on the mighty Cleveland Cavaliers with solid defense, timely rebounding, and outstanding ball movement on offense. The lead ballooned again in the second quarter, with the bench unit plus Karl-Anthony Towns putting the Wolves up by a 45-24 margin.

Late in the second quarter, Tyus Jones had a finger-roll attempt swatted in the open floor by James. Only moments later, Jones forced a steal on the defensive end of the floor and received a head-manning pass from Jimmy Butler with James once again hot on his tail. This time, however, Jones threw down a one-handed dunk on the right side of the rim with James flying past, just missing the chance for another block.

The Target Center exploded, but it was only a precursor to another standing ovation shortly thereafter. With the final possession of the first half, Jimmy Butler hit a difficult step-back 3-pointer over Dwayne Wade at the buzzer, expanding the Wolves’ lead to 69-42 at the break.

The third quarter brought more of the same. After Isaiah Thomas was ejected for a Flagrant 2 foul for swinging his arm and hitting Andrew Wiggins in the throat at the 6:47 mark, the Wolves continued to build upon their massive lead. It reached 41 points on a Wiggins dunk with 3:09 remaining in the quarter before settling at at 102-67 prior to the final frame.

The fourth quarter saw plenty of half-hearted play from the reserves of each team, but it also provided the Wolves starting lineup with some much-needed rest.

Tweets of the Night

Key Takeaways

• Wolves fans likely haven’t felt this optimistic about their team since…well, probably the last time Target Center was sold-out four games in a row, as noted in Jerry Zgoda’s above tweet. You may remember the game that brought it all crashing down: the Wolves near-win over Kobe Bryant‘s Lakers that saw rookie Ricky Rubio tear his ACL in the final moments of the loss.
• The Wolves were ready to go in this one, and their defensive intensity early set the tone for the rest of the game. The offense was solid throughout, and the bench in particular was impressive once again.
• Minnesota held their opponent under 100 points for the seventh consecutive game. The last time they allowed more than 100 points was on December 27th, which was the overtime win over the Denver Nuggets.
• Kevin Love had three points on 1-of-7 shooting in 21 minutes in his return to Target Center. James had only 10 points and led Cleveland’s starters in scoring.

Player of the Game

Jimmy Butler: 21 points (7-13 FG, 4-6 3P, 3-4 FT), 9 assists, 8 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 turnovers, 27 minutes

Butler only needed 27 minutes to post a near-triple-double. He initiated the Wolves offense a bunch in this one, and hit tough jumper after tough jumper. Butler also set the tone early in slowing down LeBron James, who posted a season-low 10 points on just eight shot attempts.

Notable Box Score Lines

• Karl-Anthony Towns: 19 points (8-11 FG, 1-2 3P, 2-2 FT), 12 rebounds, 4 assists, one block, 2 turnovers
• Andrew Wiggins: 25 points (9-19 FG, 2-6 3P, 5-6 FT), 6 rebounds, one assist
• Gorgui Dieng: 11 points (4-10 FG, 0-2 3P, 3-4 FT), 8 rebounds, 2 assists
• Taj Gibson: 16 points (8-13 FG, 0-1 3P), 13 rebounds, one assist, one block

Next: Timberwolves Mid-Season Report Card

What’s Next?

The Timberwolves will remain home to face the Oklahoma City Thunder for the fourth and final time of the season on Wednesday night. If the Wolves win, they’ll have won three of four and will hold the all-important tie-breaker against their divisional rivals.