Wrap-Up – Wednesday’s matchup in Minnesota was simply one to forget, as the Timberwolves went wire-to-wire over the Cavaliers, 124-95, at the Target Center. Minnesota led by two touchdowns after one quarter and totaled 70 points before intermission. The T-Wolves scored another 38 points in the third period and, by the fourth, Mike Brown had emptied his bench for the evening as the Wine and Gold remained winless away from The Q.
Three Cavaliers notched double-figures, led by Kyrie Irving, who tallied 20 points on 8-for-17 shooting. Anderson Varejao followed up with 13 points and five boards and Tristan Thompson added 10 points and six rebounds. Every member of the Cavaliers bench aside from Henry Sims got into the scoring column.
All five Timberwolves notched double-figures, led by Kevin Love’s 33-point effort. Corey Brewer added 27 points and Ricky Rubio doubled-up with 16 points and a career-high 16 assists.
Turning Point – This one got away from the Cavaliers early. Alonzo Gee’s three-pointer with just under five minutes to play in the first quarter cut Minnesota’s lead to four, but Kevin Love began hurting the Cavaliers inside and Brewer, Rubio and Robbie Hummel canned three-pointers to put the T-Wolves up by as many as 16 – opening the floodgates for the remainder of the affair.
Game Ball – Kyrie Irving – Irving was aggressive in the early-going and netted his 20 points in just three quarters of play. Kyrie added two assists, a steal and a blocked shot.
By the Numbers – 41 … bench points for the Wine and Gold on Wednesday night, outscoring Minnesota’s reserves by 13. The Cavaliers second unit has outscored its opponents’ in eight of the nine games played so far this season.
Quotable – Head Coach Mike Brown, on what positives he took from Wednesday’s loss …
”I saw some things that make me think that this team has some fight and some character. I saw it tonight. I saw some stuff on the court, some stuff on the bench, listening to guys talk and how they feel. We like some of the things that were being said, things that were said on the bench, some of the things done on the bench by most of the guys.”
Up Next – The Cavaliers come back to The Q for some much-needed home cookin’, taking on the Charlotte Bobcats on Friday night. (Including Friday’s affair, in the Cavs’ first ten games of the season, they’ll have faced the Sixers, Timberwolves and Bobcats twice apiece. After 12 games, you can add the Wizards to that list.) The Wine and Gold then hit the road to complete the weekend back-to-back on Saturday night in D.C. when they face the Wizards – hopefully with Andrew Bynum back in tow. Cleveland gets a rare three-day respite following the Wizards game, returning to The Q to face the Wizards again on Wednesday night.