Antawn Jamison stars as Cleveland Cavaliers thump listless Minnesota Timberwolves: NBA Recap
Minnesota Timberwolves took yet another backward step on Friday night after putting up a listless performance against the lowly Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Wolves started the week on a roll, taking down the likes of Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs in back to back games, but since then have lost their way. Pitched up against the Cavs, Minnesota failed
to match the defensive intensity and shot at under 40 percent to slump to a 98-87 loss.
The Cavs were led by veteran power forward Antawn Jamison, who scored 22 points and grabbed 6 rebounds. Anderson Varejao chipped in with 13 points, 12 boards and five assists, rookie Kyrie Irving had 14, while
ex-Timberwolve Ramon Session, Alonzo Gee and Daniel Gibson had 11 points apiece.
The Wolves were paced by another monstrous night from Kevin Love. The power forward slammed home 29 points and clutched 14 rebounds, but got little support from his team-mates. Rookie Derrick Williams, who started
the game with 3 on 3, finished off with 12 points; Darko Milicic had 11; swingman Ricky Rubio managed 10 with 5 assists and Michael Beasley posted 9 points and 12 rebounds. He sprained his right foot deep into the game and could miss out some games.
The Wolves had the better start to the game and were leading by 22-19, entering the last three minutes of the first frame. The Cavs jumped to a 12-4 run bridging the first and the second quarter to take a 30-24
lead and were ahead by 52-45 at the break.
Jamison and Varejao combined to take the lead into double figure early in the third as the Cavs started to pull away. Jamison scored 10 of his 22 points in the period, taking the Cavs into the fourth quarter
with a 76-64 advantage.
Five minutes into the fourth stanza and the Wolves stretched their lead to 90-72, the biggest differential of the game. Williams and Love combined for 6-0 burst to slash the deficit to 78-90, but Varejao and
Jamison followed with a jumper and a 3 respectively, to ice the game for the Cavs.
Cleveland Coach Byron Scott was impressed with the way; his team hung tough and killed the game deep;
"There's still a lot of room to improve on both ends of the floor, and I think at times we do tend to lose a little focus for whatever reason," coach Byron Scott said. "But for a young team like we have, to close out the games
the way we've been closing out, it's pretty good."
For the Wolves though, the fifth loss in seven games, has started to bring back the unwanted nostalgia of last season, when they finished last in the league with a 17-65 record. Rick Adelman, the new man in charge this season,
while talking post game, urged his team to man up to the situation and bring consistency in their game.
"We are just so hit or miss right now," Minnesota coach Rick Adelman said. "I told them, `I never said this was going to be easy,' and they are going to have to tough it out."
Antawn Jamison,
Cleveland Cavaliers,
Minnesota Timberwolves,
NBA,
Dallas Mavericks,
San Antonio Spurs,
Anderson Varejao,
Daniel Gibson,
Kevin Love,
Derrick Williams,
Darko Milicic,
Michael Beasley,
Ricky Rubio
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