This feels familiar… a bit of déjà vu early in 2026, as after defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers
131-122 in a game that the Minnesota Timberwolves starters dominated – scoring 112 of their 131 points they travel to Cleveland for a lunchtime Prime matchup. Minnesota comes in on a four-game win streak, looking to take the season series against the Cavaliers 2-0 as they continue to climb the standings in the Western Conference.It’s weird to play a team twice in a row and even more weird to travel in between
the two games, add in the matinee timing, and it will be an interesting matchup against two good teams. Minnesota is looking to win its fifth straight before returning home to play the San Antonio Spurs in a key Western Conference matchup. The Timberwolves will play this one without Mike Conley, who is resting on the front end of the back-to-back.
The offense for both teams was flowing early as Donovan Mitchell started strong, putting the Cleveland offense on his back as he’s done for much of this season. Ant responded with a couple of threes, but more impressively his expert two-man game with Rudy Gobert. He found him in the pocket for good looks and finished the first with three assists. Great offense early gave the Timberwolves a 33-29 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
Donte DiVincenzo began the second blistering helping Minnesota’s early 14-2 run in the second quarter that forced a Cleveland timeout. The Cavaliers responded with a 9-0 run of their own and kept the game close the rest of the half. With Mike Conley out, the Timberwolves needed a different 38-year-old to step up in the form of Joe Ingles, who was added to the rotation and knocked down a three in the frame. Hot 3-point shooting fueled the Wolves, but turnovers kept them from pulling away. Timberwolves clung to a 65-63 lead at the half.
A back-and-forth start to the third quarter, with lots of buckets from both sides, had the game close to the beginning. That is when Cleveland started to take advantage of some Wolves’ stagnant offense. They went on a 12-0 run earlier in the quarter and a 10-0 run late to take the lead heading into the fourth. Anthony Edwards had some strong drives to the rim, which helped to keep the game from getting too far out of hand, but the Cavaliers maintained a 99-91 advantage going into the final frame.
The 4th quarter started out at a screaming pace with nobody missing. The Cavaliers were the ones who were able to keep that pace up. They were on fire and stayed on fire for nearly the entire quarter. They even had a stretch where they made nine straight shots. This caused Finch to wave the white flag with a big matchup tomorrow at home, and Cleveland not seeming to be able to miss. Timberwolves drop the matinee, 146-134.
Avalanche in the Second Half
After the Timberwolves started strong and went up by as much as 12 in the second quarter, the Cavaliers came out blazing hot to start the second half. They had two big runs in the third quarter of 12-0 and 10-0 that helped them to get some breathing room, but it was the avalanche of the fourth quarter that was the death knell to Minnesota’s hopes of winning two straight against the Cavaliers. They came out like gangbusters, and while the quality of defensive possessions waxed and waned for the Timberwolves, Cleveland’s shooting did not.
It felt like the hoop and ball had magnets on them for the Cavs’ offense; they even made nine consecutive shots in the fourth quarter. This was overwhelming for the Timberwolves and put them away in the final frame.
Carelessness with the Ball
This is a story that has been written a lot, but it was a big part of the reason the Timberwolves weren’t able to build their lead in the first half. Despite out-shooting the Cavaliers from beyond the arc by a great margin in the first two quarters, their turnovers were the reason Cleveland was able to stay in the game. Then, when the shooting percentages evened out (and even skewed in the Cavs’ favor in the 4th), Minnesota was not able to keep up.
Reserve Boost
Always have to end on a positive note. The Timberwolves’ bench this season has constantly vacillated, especially in the scoring department, but tonight they provided a spark. Naz Reid continued his stellar play with 25 points while shooting 9/12 from the field, as well as adding five rebounds. Bones Hyland used his craft and a circus three to add 12 points to the tally from the reserves. While they do need more consistency from that group, it was good to see both of them be able to provide some scoring from the bench mob.
Up Next
The Minnesota Timberwolves will travel back home to take on the San Antonio Spurs. Both teams will be on the second night of a back-to-back, with the Wolves having a slight travel advantage coming from Cleveland instead of Boston. The game on Sunday begins at 6 PM CT on Fanduel Sports North.
