{{pageModel.leagueAbbr}} {{pageModel.subtitle}} | Las Vegas Review-Journal
National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Cleveland 106, Minnesota 90
When: 8:00 PM ET, Saturday, January 31, 2015
Where: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Officials: #23 Jason Phillips, #74 Curtis Blair, #58 Josh Tiven
Attendance: 19562

Cavaliers 106, Timberwolves 90: LeBron James scored 16 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter and Kevin Love grabbed 17 rebounds in his return to Minnesota as Cleveland pulled away late to win its 10th straight.

Love, who was a three-time All-Star in six seasons with the Timberwolves before being traded to Cleveland this summer, added 14 points as the Cavaliers continued their longest winning streak since a 13-gamer in 2009-10. Timofey Mozgov also had 14 points and Kyrie Irving chipped in 12.

Andrew Wiggins scored a career-high 33 points to lead the way for Minnesota, which was outrebounded 52-35 in losing for the 11th time in its last 12 home games. Thaddeus Young had 19 points on 9-of-13 shooting while both Nikola Pekovic and Kevin Martin had 14 for the Timberwolves.

The Cavaliers led by 13 early in the second quarter before the hosts crawled back, tying it at 47 on Wiggins' steal and dunk with just under two minutes left in the half. Wiggins hit a jumper to put Minnesota up 71-70 near the end of the third, its first lead since it was 3-0.

Martin's basket in the closing moments of the period gave the Timberwolves a 79-76 edge entering the fourth before James took over, scoring 13 straight points for the Cavaliers to highlight a decisive 16-2 burst. Love tipped in a miss by Irving to make it 101-89 with just under two minutes to go and Cleveland cruised from there to its seventh consecutive win over a Western Conference team.

GAME NOTEBOOK:
A video tribute was played to honor Love prior to the game, which drew mostly cheers with some boos. ... Timberwolves PG Zach LaVine sat out with an ankle injury while PG Ricky Rubio (ankle) is expected to return Monday against Dallas, according to a report. ... SG Matthew Dellavedova had 10 points and C Tristan Thompson hauled in 13 rebounds off the bench for the Cavaliers.
Top Game Performances
 
Cleveland   Minnesota
LeBron James 36 Scoring Andrew Wiggins 33
LeBron James 5 Assists Lorenzo Brown 9
Kevin Love 17 Rebounds Nikola Pekovic 12
LeBron James 5 Free Throws Made Nikola Pekovic 6
Kyrie Irving 2 Steals Andrew Wiggins 4
Tristan Thompson 4 Blocks Gorgui Dieng 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Cleveland 106 48.3 10-32 12-19 16 52 6 8 13
Minnesota 90 41.5 6-13 16-21 19 35 1 6 12
Upcoming Games
  • Minnesota will play their next game on the road against Dallas. The Timberwolves have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .211 after a loss.
  • Cleveland will play their next game at home against Philadelphia. The Cavaliers have a W/L % of .750 after a win and .381 after a loss.