Cleveland, Ohio - The Cavaliers beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 128-107 behind Evan Mobley's 28 points and 10 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 blocks and 2 steals.
The Cavaliers hosted the Minnesota Timberwolves in their last home game before the All-Star break.
Newly acquired Cavalier De’Andre Hunter (Cavs traded Caris LeVert and Georges Niang to the Atlanta Hawks for Hunter before the trade deadline) was inserted into the starting lineup after Max Strus was a late addition to the injury report with a right ankle sprain.
With Hunter starting his first game for the Cavs, did head coach Kenny Atkinson have a particular message for De’Andre before the game?
“It's more just a process of getting acclimated. These guys have been in so many different situations, right? They've been on 10 AAU teams and college, and I think they acclimate pretty well. I mean, [it] really helps with Ty your best friend is in the building that helps. And then I don't want to rush anything, just gradually get to know him. On the way here, I was thinking [about] all the things we haven't taught them yet. And geez, what if that happens tonight? Or, we want to play zone, or we want to do this? He really doesn't know. So we just focused on the basics, our basic principles. So it's going to take some time, but good thing he’s not a guy that hasn't been playing for months; he'll just go out there, and I'm sure it'll just kind of snap like that. He’ll be ready to roll.”
Hunter didn’t make his first basket until the second quarter, a 3-pointer that caused the Timberwolves to call timeout.
The first quarter started with neither team scoring a point until the Cavs broke the drought around the 9-minute mark, thanks to Mitchell finding Evan Mobley cutting baseline for the dunk. The Cavs scored the first 16 points of the game over the next 5 minutes.
For the Timberwolves, they didn’t have anything go their way, going 2 for 21 and not scoring their first point until the 4:56 mark after Rudy Gobert made the second of two free throws.
Anthony Edwards played 10 first-quarter minutes and was held to 5 points on 1/7 shooting.
The second period saw the Cavs push their lead to as much as 24 as the Cavs’ core 4 (Allen, Garland, Mitchell, Mobley) poured in 28 of the Cavs' 36 second-quarter points.
While the Cavs offense found its groove, however, their defense left much to be desired. The wind and gold allowed Minnesota to shoot 54% from the floor after holding them to 9.5% in the first quarter.
The Cavs also struggled to keep the Timberwolves out of the paint, allowing them to score 18 paint points in the quarter. Anthony Edwards, after a slow start, entered halftime with 19 points, 3 rebounds, and 5 turnovers. Also, after trying to get an explanation for a no-call at the end of the half Edwards was assessed a technical foul. Edwards finished the game with 44 points, 6 rebounds, and seven turnovers.
The Cavs took a 66-44 lead into halftime.
Evan Mobley was the first half star for the home team with 19 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 blocked shots. Ty Jerome and Sam Merrill combined for 11 points off the bench.
With the Cavs leading by 22, Anthony Edwards erupted for his most productive period of the game with 18 points as he nailed multiple 3-pointers to cut the Cavs lead to 15.
Newcomer De’Andre Hunter would nail a 3-pointer a few possessions later to push the Cavs lead back to 20. The Timberwolves shot 65% from the floor in the quarter, but it wasn’t enough to cut the Cavs lead down to a manageable deficit.
The Cavs, en route to an almost 40-point quarter, ended the period with 6 points in the last 5 seconds after Mitchell found Jaylon Tyson in the corner for 3. Then the Cavs on-ball pressure in the backcourt caused Rob Dillingham to pass the ball into the hands of Ty Jerome who nailed a 3-pointer from the top of the key as the buzzer went off.
Leading 104- 78 to enter the 4th, the Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson emptied his bench, and we saw Luke Travers and Emoni Bates receive playing time.
The Cavs defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 128-107. Evan Mobley had a team-high 28 points, 10 rebounds, 2 steals, and 4 blocks. But what his 6 assist is what jumped out on the stat sheet. What does Mobley attribute to his improved passing?
“I feel like the biggest thing is just me attacking first, looking for my shot first and from there just reading the defense on how they react, and I felt like I did a good job of that tonight. Catch it in the pocket, attack first and if it wasn't there, kick out for 3."
Coach Atkinson postgame gloated about the approach his young big man took going in to the game.
"He kind of dominated. I loved how aggressive he was. Really aggressive in every [aspect], paint, threes, transition, pushing the ball. I thought after that injury, he had a little bit of a lull there. It's taken him a little bit of time to get back to his kind of peak performances here, but he's back. That was impressive."
De'Andre Hunter finished with 12 points, 1 rebound, and 1 steal in his Cavalier debut. Hunter, after the game, stated he just wants to help the Cavs win any way he can after believing the trade wouldn't go down.
“They showed they really wanted me, showed that they obviously had a need, that they feel like needed to be addressed. And I feel like as someone who prides himself on defense and can score on the other end. I try to be a two-way player as best as I can. So I think that can really help this team, especially at the small forward. But like I said, they were doing good without me. So, I'm just trying to help. That's all.”
With the best record in the league the Cavs remained aggressive looking for ways to improve the team, an approach Coach Atkinson appreciates.
"Yes. That's what I told Koby. We talked about how hard it was losing guys. You're 41 and 9, and I think all the credit goes to Koby. He's aggressive and I second it, and I said, ‘Man, let's go for this.’ But it takes an aggressive GM to do that. Could have easily stood pat. And he was forward, really forward and aggressive in getting me the information, getting our staff the information, so we were comfortable with it. Whether it works out or it doesn't, like, I loved how he, he approached this and kind of went for it."
Donovan Mitchell after scoring 6 first quarter points after what looked like a jammed finger, scored 17 points the remainder of the game. How did Mitchell feel about his new teammates debut?
"I think for him (De'Andre Hunter)to come in and he just kept it simple on offense, and defensively, you saw the impact he has, guarding probably one of the best players in the NBA to start the game, making it tough for him. I think he started off 2-of-10, 2-of-11, turnovers, different things just from his activity, us being in the gaps, it sets the tone. When he's up there pressuring the ball, we’re all up there, we're all doing our thing. That's what he brings. Obviously on the offensive end, continuing to find his spots and be aggressive. First game, it's definitely great to have him and we're excited. It's something we’ll continue to build with and get better."
The Cavs improve to 42-10 on the season. They travel to Toronto to take on the Raptors on Wednesday, February 12, their final game before the All-Star break.