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Final Score: Minnesota Timberwolves beat Cleveland Cavaliers, 102-95
Stats:
Wolves- 39 rebounds, 18 assists, 8 Blocks and 8 steals.
Cavaliers- 40 rebounds, 24 assists, 3 Blocks and 4 steals.
After beating Chicago Bulls on Saturday, Timberwolves faced "Confident" Cavs last night. It was a great defensive performance by the Wolves as they beat Cavs 102-95. It was not an easy road for them as Cavs were always in the game.
It will not be unfair to say that this Cleveland team is enormously talented. They were coming off a two-match winning streak that ended last night. Kyle Korver was the leading scorer with 22 points which included six three-pointers. There were good contributions from the other players too but it was not enough to bring home the W.
Wolves scored a lot of the points in the paint led by Karl-Anthony Town who finished the game with 21 points. They are now 6-2 after the Jimmy Butler trade and have won two out of their ten road games. Here are my three takeaways from the match.
#3 Kyle Korver scored 22 points
Kyle Korver is averaging just 6.8 points this season. There have been rumors about him getting traded because of his unimpressive performances this season. But last night was the best performance of the season for Kyle Korver.
The veteran scored 22 points that included six three-pointers out of the nine attempted. He scored 7 out of the 12 from the field and converted both his free throws.
Check out the highlights of this amazing performance:
I am a fan of his shooting form, and there is no doubt he is still a sharpshooter beyond the arc. His contract runs till 2019-2020 with Cavs and any team would love to have a player like him on the bench.
#2 Five Wolves' players were in double figures
It was a team effort from the Wolves on both the ends of the floor. They had five players who score in double figures- Robert Covington, Karl-Anthony Towns, Jeff Teague, Andrew Wiggins and Derrick Rose. They all scored 24, 21,13, 11 and 12 points respectively.
Even Dario Saric and Taj Gibson had a fair amount of contributions from their side. Dario had nine points with six rebounds, and Gibson scored seven points, eight rebounds and two assists.
Derrick Rose came off the bench and scored 12 points with 10 of them coming off in the fourth quarter. Towns also hit two crucial baskets in the last two minutes of the game.
Besides the offence, the team was extraordinary on the defensive end. They had eight steals and forced a turnover 16 times in the game. It was their defence that gave them the edge on Cavs.
Check out some of the great defensive and offensive plays by the Wolves:
#1 A comeback game for Robert Covington
Robert Covington had a horrible game Saturday night where he scored 4 points with 1 out 19 from the field and missed all 10 of his three-point attempts.
But he was a completely different player last night with 24 points and 7 rebounds. He scored 8 out of 12 from the field and converted 4 of his 7 three-pointers.
''The second that clock hit zero (Saturday), that game was out of my mind,'' Covington said. ''That's what happens when you're a shooter.''
Covington's defense even better than his offence. He made it extremely difficult to score for the player whom he was guarding. In one of the plays in the match, he stole the ball from Clarkson using his one hand!
After the Jimmy Butler trade, Wolves have improved defensively because of the addition of Robert Covington.
Check out this impressive steal and a three-point shot by Covington:
