(On the 4-1 homestand): "I thought we had a pretty good homestand of course except for the one game. Not easy to win every game in the NBA. The guys responded very well to the moment but that’s just a small piece to the season. Obviously, right now we’re doing a good job scoring the basketball. Our defense has definitely picked up, but we still have a long way to go."
(On if he thinks his team plays down to the competition): "First of all, I thought Minnesota came and competed so our competition was good. But we were not as locked in taking care of the basketball in the first half as we needed to be and also rebounding the basketball in the first half. I think they had 11 offensive rebounds in the first half and obviously only five in the second. The game became a lot easier for us because we were running the ball well and we were moving the ball well. You gotta be locked in at all times and if not, most of the time, because teams are going to go after you. I thought Minnesota came with great energy and really played us tough."
(On Andrew Wiggins): "Andrew really played a good game. I told you before Andrew is a guy with such great potential and abilities. Obviously, he was going to be hyped coming into this game and he played his best game of the season without question. I think Andrew is a great kid and is going to be a great basketball player. I’m not used to being happy for other guys when they play well against us but given the fact that we won convincingly and that Andrew played well, I’m happy for him."
(On Dion Waiters): “I really liked what Dion did. He did struggle in the beginning and the fact that he came out and then gave us another good game was very important. That kind of consistency of performance, effort and approach is great for Dion and great for us. I thought he really, really did a nice job working his way into the game, not losing his way and then giving us a great performance.”
(On what happened to his thumb): “It scared me initially. I had jammed it pretty bad during the Brooklyn game and in practice put it in tape the next day, so I was fortunate that I was able to, I guess, get shots up and some practice time with the tape on. We came back here and it seems to be just a mild, little thing. I shook it off and went back in there and played.”
(On playing Minnesota for the first time): “I didn’t really feel much of anything, to be honest with you. It felt like just another game. It was a game that we felt that we needed to win. It was our last game at home before we went to South Florida before Christmas. We wanted to get four out of five at home. We wish we could have got them all, but we have to win the games here and have some sort of home court advantage, so we’re happy we did that tonight.”
(On the game tonight): “They’re an athletic team. They get on a break. We kind of expected the pace that it was at. Guys were just being athletic and being young and getting up and down the floor. On the defensive end we just have to buckle down. Whoever is going to get stops first is going to win the game. They were scoring and we were scoring in the first half. Coming out of the locker room we just had to make a conscious effort to get stops.”
(On Andrew Wiggins): “He’s a great, young player. He’s going to be one of the greatest guys in our league pretty soon. He brought it for a full 48 (minutes). We kind of knew that going in. He took the challenge personally against all of us and he was getting to a spot where he was knocking down shots at the free throw line – everything that we know he’s capable of doing. He just has to do it more consistently. I’m a big fan and it was great that we got to play against him finally.”
(On the run at the end of the third quarter): “We got stops, were more physical. When we get stops, we’re very good offensively. We get rebounds, it allowed us to open up.”
(On thoughts about going back to Miami): “To say I haven’t thought about going back, I’d be lying to you guys. It’s going to be great to be back in that building around those unbelievable fans. The memories will definitely come back, being a part of the organization for the four years I was there. When it gets down to it, I’m excited about it. I’m going to relive a lot of the moments in my head and go from there.”
(On tonight’s game): “The score is probably not an indication of how well we actually played. We went to our bench and we got too many empty minutes. Sometimes it was when our starters went to the bench and came back, and we didn’t play at the intensity we needed to for a couple of minutes. So they (the Cavs) went on with what they can do. They went on some runs and we weren’t able to withstand some of them.”
(On the Cavs’ 19-1 run): “We struggled playing from behind because we have a lot of young guys that aren’t used to doing that. So they have a tendency to get a little bit too anxious, and then we take one or two bad shots and that leads to fast break opportunities. That’s what makes it difficult.”
(On Andrew Wiggins guarding LeBron James): “He did a lot. LeBron is a tough cover. We all know how great he really is. So he really took the game over in that stretch there (the Cavs’ 19-1 run). You could kind of sense that we were a little bit back on our heels and we played a little bit out of character for a while.”
(On tonight’s game): “I think we played well. We’re the younger team. A game is full of runs. They went on a run that really separated the game at the end.”
(On guarding LeBron James): “I’m a competitor, so it was fun for me. I’m sure it was fun for him and fun for the fans to see. You’ve got to work for your shots and play hard. He’s one of the best players in the league, so I think I learned a lot. He can score in a lot of different ways and impact the game a lot of different ways.”
(On whether tonight’s game was more emotional than usual): “Yeah. Before the game even started when we were in the locker room, it was just a different atmosphere. Emotions were a lot higher than they usually are. I think it’s obvious this is a motivation game for me.”
(On returning to play in Cleveland): “It felt good seeing a lot of old faces and a lot of people that helped me out along the way. It’s always good to say what’s up and see how they’re doing.”
(On Andrew Wiggins’ play tonight): “He did alright. He did more than alright. He canceled all the noise and just went out there and played.”
(On tonight’s game): “I wish I could have done a lot more. But with the way things rolled, Wiggins had the hot hand so everybody fed him.”
CAVALIERS NOTES:
- A 16-1 run to end the third quarter helped the Cleveland Cavaliers extend their winning streak to three with a 125-104 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves. It was their second highest point total of the year. The Cavs finished their five-game homestand with a record of 4-1 and are 9-1 in their last 10 contests at Quicken Loans Arena. Cleveland is also 12-3 in its last 15 games overall, 14-2 when reaching the century mark in scoring and 6-2 in its last eight at home against Minnesota.
- Cleveland had five players score in double figures (Irving – 29, James – 24, Love – 20, Waiters – 19 and Marion – 11). It was the fourth time this season in which James, Love and Irving each scored 20-plus points in a game.
- The Wine and Gold knocked down 44-84 (.524) from the field and 12-24 (.500) from three-point land. It is the second straight game the Cavaliers shot .500 or better shooting from the floor and behind the arc. Cleveland moves to 8-0 when shooting .500 or better from the floor and 13-1 when outshooting their opponent in field goal percentage. Cleveland also shot well from the charity stripe after going 25-31 (.806) on the night.
- On the defensive end, the Cavs recorded 11 steals, six blocks and held the Timberwolves to 4-13 (.308) from long range. Over the last two games, Cleveland has held its opponents to a combined 5-29 (.172) shooting from three-point range.
- Kyrie Irving paced the Cavs with a game-high 29 points on a season-high tying 12 field goals made on 19 attempts (.632), four assists and a team-high tying three steals in 37 minutes. It was Irving’s 15th game of 20 points or more.
- LeBron James hit a season-high tying four triples on seven attempts (.571) and finished 8-16 (.500) from the field en route to 24 points. James also added four rebounds, three assists and a season-high tying three blocks in 35 minutes of play.
- In the first game against his former team, Kevin Love recorded his team-leading 15th double-double of the season after ending the night with 20 points, 10 rebounds and four assists in 36 minutes. Love finished 9-11 (.818) from the free throw line. It was his sixth outing with 20-plus points and 10-plus boards this season.
- Dion Waiters was also solid at the charity stripe, going 7-8 (.875) overall and finishing the night with 19 points, four assists and three steals in 27 minutes off the bench. Waiters has been a big boost off the pine in his last four games, as he is averaging 16.3 points in 22.3 minutes during that span.
- Shawn Marion came off the bench and finished with 11 points on 5-7 (.714) shooting from the field, four rebounds and a season-high tying three blocks in 26 minutes. In his last three games (all off the bench) Marion is averaging 10.0 points, while shooting a highly efficient .737 (14-19) from the field, 3.7 rebounds, 1.0 steal and 1.3 blocks in 21.7 minutes.