Timberwolves hold off Cavs 4th quarter rally to snap losing skid

Despite leading by double digits for most of the game, the Minnesota Timberwolves survived a furious fourth-quarter comeback from the Cleveland Cavaliers to secure a 129-124 win on Sunday.

Since the Cavaliers were without leading scorer Donovan Mitchell and starting center Jarrett Allen, it was important for the Timberwolves to get back on track and snap their 3-game losing streak.

After taking a 104-84 lead into the fourth quarter, it appeared the Timberwolves would coast to a blowout but that wasn’t the case as the Cavaliers stormed back behind star guard Darius Garland’s career-high 51 points.

During the fourth quarter, Garland went off for 27 points and fueled the Cavaliers’ comeback. The Timberwolves made plenty of mistakes down the stretch but did just enough to escape with a win.

Timberwolves hold off Cavaliers fourth quarter comeback to snap losing skid

There were a few reasons why the Wolves nearly collapsed including the offense becoming stagnant in the final minutes and an inability to contain Garland coming off a high ball screen.

Even though the Timberwolves came out on top, it was clear how much growth and improvement still needs to take place if the team is going to reach the playoffs for a second straight season.

Timberwolves guard D’Angelo Russell deserves a lot of credit for helping avoid another slow start with 15 points in the first quarter. Russell racked up a team-high 30 points and 12 assists.

Following a slow start, Wolves frontcourt duo Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert both had a double-double for the first time this season. Towns totaled 29 points and 13 rebounds, while Gobert finished with 15 points and 13 rebounds in the win.

Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch reacted to the 129-124 win over the Cavaliers during the postgame press conference on Sunday night.

"“I thought we played really well for the most part. Some shot selection in the fourth quarter kind of started their run and obviously, one guy got super hot. We tried a lot of different things to get him shut down. I’m not here to be super picky, it was a good win by our guys. They were missing two key players but we had to take advantage of that. I thought we did a really good job tonight. We stayed in plays a lot longer. We contested a lot better and that kept us engaged.” – Timberwolves head Coach Chris Finch as per the Minnesota Timberwolves post game press conference."

The victory snaps a three-game losing streak for the visiting Timberwolves (6-8) while dropping the Cavaliers in their first homecourt loss.