Cavs Can't Complete Comeback, Lose 129-124 To Timberwolves

The Cleveland Cavaliers almost completed a 24-point comeback against the Minnesota Timberwolves but came up short in the fourth quarter.

Tommy Wild | Nov 13, 2022

Cavs Can't Complete Comeback, Lose 129-124 To Timberwolves /

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The Cavs made it a game, but they couldn't close the deal. Cleveland ended up dropping their fourth straight game as they were beaten by the Minnesota Timberwolves with a final score of 129-124.

The Timberwolves hit the ground running in the first quarter. They put up 40-points and were 7/12 from behind the arc in Q1. The Cavs on the other hand already found themselves with a 20-point deficit on their hands.

The Minnesota team started the game off hot, but D'Angelo Russel was especially on fire at the beginning. He scored 15 points first-quarter points and was perfect from the field and behind the three-point line after the first buzzer.

Russell didn't cool off as the game went on either. He finished the game with 30 points, 12 assists and was 11/13 from the field.

It didn't help that the Cavs were severely undermanned, especially in the paint. Jarrett Allen was ruled out for the game with left-ankle soreness.

Minnesota runs out two seven-footers in Karl Anthony-Towns and Rudy Gobert which is a formula that they copied from the 2021-22 Cavs. Allen's absence was clearly felt on the defensive and in size with those two sharing the floor.

Cleveland's leading scorer, Donovan Mitchell, was also out for the game after rolling his ankle at the end of their loss to the Golden State Warriors on Friday night. The Cavs can usually count on Mitchell to give them a clutch bucket or a three to sway momentum.

Nov 13, 2022; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Jordan McLaughlin (6) drives to the basket against Cleveland Cavaliers forward Mamadi Diakite (21) and forward Evan Mobley (4) and guard Darius Garland (10) during the first half at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Even Darius Garland and his career-high 51 points couldn't fill that void. Although he came close to it at the end of the game.

The Cavs came within 2 points with under 10 seconds to play in the fourth quarter. At one point they had been down 24 points.

That loss was frustrating—no other way around it. The T-Wolves have a lot of potential but they haven't been off to a great start to the season. Their win over the Cavs is only their sixth win of the year

The silver lining in all of this is that Minnesota couldn't have played a better game, especially in the first half. They ended up shooting 56.1 percent from the field and made 12 of their 24 threes.

It's pretty hard to shoot like that every night, even for teams in the NBA. Unfortunately for the Cavs, this shooting display came against them.

Time to forget about that one, turn the page, and focus on the Milwaukee Bucks who Cleveland will see on Wednesday night.

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