With a dominating third-quarter burst, the Cavaliers claimed a 125-104 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves Tuesday night, but they lost their starting center in the process.
Five minutes into the third quarter Anderson Varejao went down with an apparent left leg injury. He stayed on the floor for several minutes as his teammates hovered around him.
He had to be helped off the floor and escorted to the locker room by James Jones and Brendan Haywood. He could not put any pressure on the leg. Varejao did not return and the Cavaliers eventually said he had a left foot/ankle sprain.
Varejao will be evaluated further Wednesday morning.
Not all was terrible in the third. It was a productive 12-minute stint for the Cleveland (17-10). Minnesota (5-22), a huge underdog, repeatedly got turnovers and offensive rebounds in the first half, trailing just 64-56 at halftime.
But Kyrie Irving scored 11 of his 29 points in the third and LeBron James provided eight points, as they helped Cleveland outscore Minnesota 32-23 in the quarter, including a 16-1 finishing run.
The young Timberwolves were out of it after that and the Cavaliers increased their lead to as many as 23 in the fourth quarter.
James registered 24 points, four rebounds and three assists in 34 minutes.
Kevin Love said he wouldn’t have a lot of emotions in his first game against his old team and he played like it. He was under control and steady, supplying 20 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. He did so with a wrap on his right hand for the last 16 minutes, thanks to a collision with Minnesota center Gorgui Dieng under the Cavaliers’ basket.
The player he was traded for used the opposite approach. Andrew Wiggins played as if he was on a mission all night. He said very little coming in, but his play and demeanor spoke volumes. He used his quickness to get to the basket, hit the long ball and guarded anyone from Irving to James. He finished with 27 points, two rebounds, two assists, a blocked shot, a steal and three turnovers.
The Timberwolves have lost 12 of their last 13 games. Cleveland ends this five-game homestand 4-1.
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