CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Cavaliers put together one of their most complete games of the season as they defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 146-134 to split the two-game set.
Cleveland’s starting five on Thursday did them in. Their core four of Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen were joined by guard Craig Porter Jr. in the starting lineup. Minnesota won the nine and a half minutes the starters were on the floor by 19 points in Thursday’s loss.
Head coach Kenny Atkinson
was asked about that starting lineup before Saturday’s game. He didn’t blame Craig Porter Jr. for that group’s shortcomings, but it was clear he wasn’t going to make that mistake again as he inserted Sam Merril into the starting lineup in Porter’s place.
Merrill rewarded his coach’s trust by pouring in 20 points on 5-6 shooting from beyond the arc. His off-ball movement and spacing were exactly what the starting lineup needed to function at its best. Instead of losing those minutes by nine, the starters won their minutes by eight on Saturday.
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Each of the starters made a significant contribution to the win.
Donovan Mitchell led the way with a game-high 28 points on 9-21 shooting. Darius Garland elevated the hybrid bench lineups while providing 22 points on 10-13 shooting with six assists. Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen dominated the paint. Mobley added 24 points and four rebounds. Allen supplied 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Jaylon Tyson had another impressive outing. He had 23 of the bench’s 36 points while going 4-4 from three.
This was a complete offensive performance from the Cavs. The ball was moving around as well as it has all season. This led to 36 of the team’s 55 field goals coming off assists. It also helped that the Cavaliers shot the ball well as they went 15-30 (50%) from three.
The Timberwolves also benefited from a hot shooting night. They went 16-32 (50%) from three, but their inability to take care of the ball with 15 turnovers led to them not being able to get the most out of their impressive three-point shooting.
Anthony Edwards led Minnesota with 25 points on 10-24 shooting. Julius Randle had 22 points on 9-16 shooting with four rebounds and four assists.
The Timberwolves are one of the best teams in the league, but the Cavs showed that they could compete with them during this two-game series. That’s incredibly encouraging for a team that has struggled to play up to its skill level at times this season.
The Cavs will be back in action on Monday when they host the Utah Jazz.
