Michael Beasley stars as the Timberwolves edge past the Cavaliers 98-97
There haven’t been too many high points for the Cleveland Cavaliers this season.
After a 5-5 start to the season, the Cavaliers have lost 12 of their last thirteen games. On Sunday night the situation got from bad to worse, as Michael Beasley
broke the hearts of a sell-out crowd at the Quickens Loans Arena.
With under six seconds left, Beasley drove down the lane and slipped in a match-turning lay-up. His endeavours though didn’t end there. Moments later as Antawn Jamison
ran towards the Wolves ring, aiming for one last ditch effort to save the match, Beasley formed a human shield - forcing him into an off-balance 10-footer that bounced off the rim twice and fell off.
The officials’ maintained their silence, and yet another match slipped away from the Wine and the Gold. Jamison,
who spearheaded Cleveland with 24 points, was adamant he was fouled and said Beasley told him after the play that he had indeed fouled him. He told reporters after the game, "I'm biased.
I thought there was contact. That's how the game goes."
In a roller coaster of a match, the Cavaliers were the first to snatch the honours, as Mo Williams used a barrage of three-pointers to initiate a 16-3 run inside
the first four minutes, which he ultimately capped with a three point play. Stung hard by the Cavs, the Timberwolves responded immediately with a 12-4 spurt to pull within five. The
Wolves resurgence was stopped short though, as the Cavs pulled off another 8-2 run to head into the second quarter leading by 28-17.
The Wolves entered the second period on an entirely different tone, as they set the court ablaze with a swash buckling display of offensive prowess and post-defence.
They gradually chipped away at the Cavaliers advantage, and with under two minutes left until half time, Beasley went downtown to give the Wolves the lead for the first time in the match at 48-45. The half finished with the Wolves holding the advantage at
51-49.
The second half saw both teams bursting into action, as they pulled off one spurt after another to counter each other. Cleveland however was the more dominant team,
as they shot three triple pointers inside two minutes late in the third quarter, to burst into a 73-70 lead at the end of the period. The Cavs continued their up-tempo style of play
going into the final period, and sprinted to a 15-4 run to hold an 88-74 advantage, their biggest of the match.
This was where Kevin Love took over.
The phenomenal forward who could not manage a bucket from the field until the third minute of the last quarter, injected life into the Minnesota ranks, as they rocketed
to a 16-3 run to make it a one point game entering the last three minutes. Anthony Parker responded for the Cavs with a jumper, but the Wolves shot into the lead on the two minute mark,
on the back of Kevin Love’s free throws. Mo Williams though restored Cleveland’s advantage again, as he slipped in two from the free throw line.
The topsy-turvy match entered the final 30 seconds with Cavaliers holding on to rather precarious lead of 95-94. The turning point of the match came as Minnesota's
Luke Ridnour drove for a fast-break lay-up, which was blocked by Antawn Jamison. He however failed to grab the ball, as Love orchestrated a foul. He made the two ensuing charity throws as the Wolves edged back. Jamison
though took the fight to the Wolves again, as he followed with a floating jump shot to put the Cavs back on top (97-96) with 10.9 seconds left.
Jamison, who scored 24 points on the night was in the thick of the action again, but for all the wrong reasons. With 5.9 seconds to go, he failed to counter Beasley
who drove past him for a lay-up to shift the lead again. Jamison however, made a last ditch effort to win the game for the Cavs with a 10-footer, but Beasley again proved too good as the Timberwolves snatched a two-match series for the first time since 2003-04.
Beasley finished with 28 points, while Luke Ridnour scored 23 points to help Minnesota improve to 7-24 for the season. Kevin Love chipped in with 16 points, including
14 in the fourth quarter, and had 18 rebounds for his NBA-leading 26th double-double.
For the Cavaliers, Jamison was complemented by Anthony Parker (21 points) and Mo Williams (17 points).
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