Minnesota Timberwolves beat Cleveland Cavaliers 127-122, face Warriors next

The Minnesota Timberwolves went on a brief one-night road trip Monday looking to bounce back after an ugly loss against the Philadelphia 76ers in front of its home crowd, and got the results they wanted.

(FOX 9) - The Minnesota Timberwolves went on a brief one-night road trip Monday looking to bounce back after an ugly loss against the Philadelphia 76ers in front of its home crowd, and got the results they wanted after a close 127-122 win against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

D’Angelo Russell scored a team-high 25 points, his 24th 20+ point game of the season so far. All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns scored 17 points – extending his streak of games scoring in double-digits to 43-straight games. Meanwhile Anthony Edwards finished the night with 17 points, a considerable uptick from a recent stretch of games that kept him in single digits.

Their first road game since Super Bowl Sunday saw the Timberwolves get off to a slow start, trailing the Cavaliers 37-26 at the end of the first quarter. Beginning in the second quarter the Timberwolves defensive intensity increased noticeably, and behind the three-point shooting of Jaden McDaniels the bench unit would combine for 36 points, pulling Minnesota ahead 64-61 at halftime.

Minnesota began the second half even more dialed-in, diving for steals and cutting for dunks to build a lead as large as 23 points before the rebuilding Cavaliers team caught its own hot streak – eventually cutting the lead and tying the game in a contest that would go down to the wire.

Patrick Beverley #22 of the Minnesota Timberwolves reacts during the first quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on February 28, 2022 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)

With 12.4 seconds left, the newly crowned three-point champion Towns hit a three-point shot that would put Minnesota ahead for the final time – a shot that head coach Chris Finch said in post-game comments he had no doubt he would make.

Although the Timberwolves never relinquished their second half lead, they certainly had fans on the edge of their seats as an energized crowd in Cleveland could be heard on the broadcast as loud as if the NBA playoffs had already began.

The first night of a back-to-back, the Timberwolves play the Golden State Warriors Wednesday night at Target Center. No doubt a tough test, as the season winds down every game will begin to count.

The Timberwolves are now 33-29, and well within the hunt for a playoff spot in the Western Conference as they're currently ranked seventh.