Donovan Mitchell didn’t have to carry the entire night by himself, but he did have to be the steady hand when Cleveland needed one. The Cavaliers came out of Minnesota with a 127-125 win in a wild, high-energy battle, even though the Timberwolves controlled stretches of the game with their work on the glass, their paint scoring, and a monster 47-point outing from Anthony Edwards.
The difference was Cleveland’s ability to answer in enough different ways to survive. Mitchell finished with 26 points, five rebounds, and seven assists, and the Cavaliers got key help from James Harden, Evan Mobley, and a bench that produced exactly when the game started tilting in Minnesota’s favor.
Mitchell was the lead scorer, but his impact went beyond that. He shot 10-21 from the floor, knocked down 5-9 from three, and added two steals and a block.
With Minnesota winning the rebounding battle 53-50 and scoring 58 points in the paint, Cleveland needed perimeter punch to avoid getting swallowed inside. Mitchell gave them that cushion.
His five triples mattered because the Timberwolves were building their offense around physical advantages. Mitchell helped keep the Cavaliers level while Minnesota tried to bully its way to control, and even with three turnovers, he remained Cleveland’s most reliable option when possessions got tight.
That long-range edge was really the story of the game. Cleveland hit 18 of 45 from deep, good for 40.0 percent, while Minnesota made 13 of 40 at 32.5 percent. That created a 15-point swing from three-point range in a game decided by two.
Mobley was part of that damage, too, drilling four of his five threes and finishing with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Harden added three makes from outside on his way to 19 points and nine assists.
Off the bench, Meleek Thomas gave Cleveland a huge lift with 16 points and four made threes in five tries. When the starters needed a release valve, he was there.
Minnesota actually shot better overall, going 49-for-102 from the field compared with Cleveland’s 46-for-102. But the Timberwolves couldn’t turn that into a win because the Cavaliers got more out of the shots that mattered most.
The other separator was possession control. Minnesota’s 18 turnovers gave Cleveland extra chances, and the Cavaliers turned those into 19 points off turnovers. The Timberwolves finished with 11 points off Cleveland’s 12 giveaways, so that six-turnover gap became an eight-point edge for the visitors in one of the night’s biggest hidden swings.
Cleveland also defended aggressively enough to make Minnesota work for every inch. The Cavaliers had 10 steals and nine blocks, and that pressure helped offset the Timberwolves’ 58 points in the paint and 16 offensive rebounds. Harden helped steady things with nine assists and just three turnovers, while Mitchell also chipped in seven assists.
Edwards still stole the spotlight individually. He poured in 47 points on 19-34 shooting, added four rebounds and four assists, hit five threes, and finished with two steals and two blocks in 41 minutes. Minnesota also got 14 points apiece from Jaden McDaniels and Terrence Shannon Jr., plus 12 from Joan Beringer.
Rudy Gobert was a force on the glass with 20 rebounds, including eight offensive boards, and Jonathan Kuminga added 10 points and nine rebounds. But the Timberwolves couldn’t squeeze enough from the rest of the group to finish the job. Gobert went scoreless from the field on nine attempts, though he made five free throws, and LaMelo Ball’s 11 points and six assists came with seven turnovers.
Cleveland’s depth made the night survivable. Mobley’s double-double, Tyson’s 11 points, four rebounds, and five assists, Merrill’s nine points, and Thomas’ efficient scoring all helped carry the load behind Mitchell and Harden.
The Cavaliers didn’t match Edwards shot for shot. They didn’t need to.
They spread the burden around, protected the ball better, and hit enough threes to walk out with the win.
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Anthony Edwards Is Giving Wolves Fans One Reason To Worry
Anthony Edwards keeps giving the Timberwolves the kind of production they can build around, and Fridays 117-94 win over Toronto was another reminder of how high the ceiling can be when he is rolling. Minnesota moved to 3-0 behind Edwards team-high 26 points, and the early-season start has the fan base feeling good about where this group is headed.
Still, there was a little unease after Edwards showed signs of right knee pain during the game, enough to put a minor cloud over an otherwise clean night. Timberwolves president Tim Connelly has already addressed the knee situation this offseason, but the more immediate concern is how the team handles it as the schedule moves on and Edwards availability becomes part of the conversation. [Read more 🡒]