Donovan Mitchell scored 36 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished seven assists, and the Cleveland Cavaliers held on for a 124-117 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night in Minneapolis.
Darius Garland finished with 29 points, five rebounds and six assists for Cleveland. Georges Niang and Ty Jerome scored 15 points apiece off the bench, and Jarrett Allen chipped in 14 points while making six of nine shots from the field.
Anthony Edwards scored 28 points on 9-for-22 shooting for Minnesota. Julius Randle scored 20 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, and Rudy Gobert also notched a double-double with 17 points and 12 boards.
Cleveland shot 45.7 percent (42 of 92) overall and 35.4 percent (17 of 48) from beyond the arc. The Timberwolves shot 47.8 percent (43 of 90) from the field and 39.5 percent (15 of 38) from 3-point range.
The Cavaliers outscored the Timberwolves 29-19 in the third quarter to take the lead for good. Mitchell and Garland opened the second half with a floating jump shot and a 3-pointer to give Cleveland a 65-60 lead and help set the tone for the rest of the way.
Jayden McDaniels made a basket to pull Minnesota within 81-79 with 2:09 remaining in the third quarter.
Cleveland finished the quarter on an 8-0 run to pull ahead 89-79 heading into the fourth. Jerome played a big part in the late third-quarter run as he made a 3-pointer and followed up by converting a three-point play to put the Cavaliers up by double digits.
The trend continued at the start of the fourth quarter as Cleveland scored the first 10 points to grab a 20-point advantage. Max Strus made a 3-pointer, Niang made a driving layup, Jerome buried a 3-pointer and Mitchell added a basket to give the Cavaliers a 99-79 lead with 9:59 remaining.
Minnesota pulled back within single digits on a layup by Rob Dillingham with 53 seconds to go, but by then it was too late to complete a comeback.
Timberwolves guard Donte DiVincenzo missed his second game in a row because of a sprained big left toe. Veteran guard Mike Conley started in DiVincenzo’s spot and finished with nine points, three rebounds and three assists.
–Field Level Media
