Wolves take care of Cavs, James
Andrew Wiggins had 25 points in three quarters, Jimmy Butler pitched in 21 points and tight defense on LeBron James, and the Minnesota Timberwolves cruised to a 127-99 victory over Cleveland on Monday night to end a 12-game home losing streak to the Cavaliers.
Karl-Anthony Towns (19 points, 12 rebounds) and Taj Gibson (16 points, 13 rebounds) were tenacious around the basket for the Timberwolves, who outrebounded the Cavs 56-37 and had a 60-42 advantage in points in the paint.
“We did what we’re supposed to do at home,” Butler said. “We’re a really good team. They’re a really good team. They missed a lot of shots that they normally make. We all know that. We’ll see them again down the road, and hopefully we play the same exact way.”
James had just 10 points on 4-for-8 shooting, posting a career-worst minus-39 rating.
“I’ve won a game and had a bad plus-minus before, so what does that matter?” James said. “I don’t give a damn about no damn plus/minus.”
Butler had plenty to do with that, contributing nine assists and eight rebounds before he sat for the fourth quarter. The Wolves led 69-42 at halftime.
Jeff Green had 22 points off the bench for the Cavs, who’ve lost six of their past nine. Clippers 108, Hawks 107: C.J. Williams hit a three-pointer from the left wing with nine seconds left to lift host Los Angeles, which wasted a 13-point lead in the third quarter. Taurean Prince missed a 15-foot jumper with three seconds left for Atlanta. Spurs 107, Kings 100: LaMarcus Aldridge had 31 points and 12 rebounds, and visiting San Antonio rallied from 13 down in the second half to win despite missing Kawhi Leonard and Manu Ginobili. Willie Cauley-Stein had 22 points and nine rebounds for Sacramento. Raptors 114, Nets 113: DeMar DeRozan scored 35 points, including a go-ahead three-point play with 26.1 seconds left in overtime, and visiting Toronto shook off a late injury to Kyle Lowry to beat Brooklyn. The Raptors lost a 10-point lead in the final 4½ minutes of regulation and then lost Lowry after a fall in OT, but still got their 10th straight win over the Nets. Spencer Dinwiddie had a career-high 31 points for the Nets, but his shot on a last drive went over the backboard. Pacers 109, Bucks 96: Domantas Sabonis had 17 points and 10 rebounds and three of his teammates each scored 15 to lead host Indiana past Milwaukee. Indiana has won two straight since a five-game losing streak. Victor Oladipo, Thaddeus Young and Myles Turner each scored 15 points. The Bucks were led by Khris Middleton with 19 points. Rockets 116, Bulls 107: Eric Gordon and Chris Paul each had 24 points and nine assists, Gerald Green scored 22 and visiting Houston beat Chicago despite missing scoring leader James Harden for a fourth straight game. Pelicans 112, Pistons 109: DeMarcus Cousins scored 16 of his 20 points after Anthony Davis left with an ankle injury in the third quarter, and host New Orleans held off Detroit.