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.
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.
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.
