The Minnesota Timberwolves couldn’t complete a two-game sweep over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday night, falling in the second game by a score of 100-98.
While the story of the game was the Timberwolves’ bench, the starters also pulled their own weight to start the game. Anthony Edwards continued his acclimation into the starting lineup, scoring 13 points on the night.
THAT’S TOUGH, ANT pic.twitter.com/39MPbPjbcZ
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) February 2, 2021
Edwards was joined by D’Angelo Russell, who also paced the offense with 18 points. Despite the starters’ efforts, Cleveland dominated in the paint with Jarrett Allen posting 23 points and 17 rebounds in place of Andre Drummond and went into halftime with a 52-44 lead.
In the second half, Minnesota started to lean on its bench, which put up 44 points on the night. The charge was led by Jaylen Nowell and Naz Reid who each had 12 points to help the Wolves make an 11-0 run in the fourth quarter to take the lead at 78-77.
WELCOME BACK, NAZ pic.twitter.com/oJl4HZ8Cv0
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) February 2, 2021
The Wolves lead was short-lived, however, as Colin Sexton terrorized Minnesota with a game-high 26 points. Although Sexton led the way, the Timberwolves came within two points late, but Taurean Prince knocked down a pair of free throws with 3.9 seconds left to secure the victory.
The Timberwolves (5-15) will look to bounce back with a trip to San Antonio on Wednesday night.
