Sunday night saw a meeting between the Timberwolves' arduous present and the hope they have for the future.
The present included a team desperate for any kind of win but that would have to do so with a thin frontcourt that didn't include Karl-Anthony Towns, Naz Reid and Juancho Hernangomez.
The beacon of light they had on the floor Sunday was Anthony Edwards, who made his early-season struggles seem like a distant memory in perhaps his best game since joining the NBA a little more than two months ago.
In a rare occurrence this season, the future actually won out as the Wolves beat Cleveland 109-104.
It was Edwards' sterling third quarter that changed the dynamic of the game and made what could have been another dreary loss into a needed pick-me-up for a team that improved to just 5-14. Edwards, who had 23 points, five rebounds and four assists, had some help from the two main Wolves scorers on the floor as D'Angelo Russell (19 points) hit clutch threes late to extend the Wolves' lead into double digits while Malik Beasley continued playing the most consistent ball of any Wolves player with 23.
Andre Drummond had 25 points and 22 rebounds for Cleveland while Darius Garland added 17.
BOXSCORE: Wolves 109, Cleveland 104
Like Philadelphia did with Joel Embiid on Friday, Cleveland's plan of attack was straightforward Sunday: get the ball inside, often.
Cleveland center Andre Drummond isn't Embiid, but he's certainly no slouch, and the Cavaliers rode that strategy much of the night.
The Wolves played without Reid for the second consecutive game as he rested a sore right wrist. With Towns and Hernangomez already out because of COVID protocols, the Wolves again had little resistance in the frontcourt like they had Friday and Cleveland had 72 paint points.
Drummond capitalized on that early with 10 first-quarter points. Edwards looked solid early for the Wolves as he was able to have success attacking the rim off the dribble for eight first-quarter points and that helped the Wolves build a 23-20 advantage when the Cavaliers went on a 13-2 run. Multiple Cavaliers were on the score sheet during that run, including former Gophers Isaac Okoro, who finished with 13.
The second quarter continued Cleveland's domination in the paint as the Wolves tried their best to hang around despite the steamrolling they were getting from the Cavaliers inside. Jake Layman had one of his best offensive stretches of the season early in the quarter playing off Ricky Rubio for six points while Jaylen Nowell (13 points) found his shot off the bench.
The Wolves were within 43-42, but another 14-3 stretch put Cleveland into the lead by double digits for the first time on the night at 59-47.
The Wolves got a glimmer of hope headed into the locker room thanks to a scoring burst from Russell and Beasley, who each hit threes in the final minutes to bring the Wolves with 61-55 at halftime.
The Wolves rolled that strong start into the second half and took their first lead of the night since the first quarter as Russell and Edwards hit threes. Edwards was just getting started. He hit three threes in the quarter and added two assists as he became the best player on the floor in helping the Wolves keep their small lead headed into the fourth. After one corner three, Edwards couldn't help but laugh as he ran back down the floor.
The teams entered a scoring drought of 3:21 early in the fourth quarter with Russell finally snapping it to give the Wolves a 95-90 lead with 6:54 to play. Russell would connect on another pair of threes on consecutive possessions to put the Wolves up 11 with 4:23 to play. They wouldn't give up this lead.
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February 01, 2021 at 10:25AM
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Anthony Edwards provides hope for future as Timberwolves stop Cavaliers - Minneapolis Star Tribune
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