MINNEAPOLIS — It was apparent rather quickly Friday night at Target Center that the Timberwolves had a sizable problem.
Two words: Cleveland Cavaliers.
With an athletic starting lineup that includes Lauri Markkanen (7 feet), Evan Mobley (7 feet) and Jarrett Allen (6-11), the Cavs towered over the Timberwolves, 123-106.
The Cavaliers (15-12) led 20-4 by the time the game was 4 ½ minutes old. They led by as many as 26 in the second and third quarters. Up 21 entering the fourth, they built a lead as big as 33 in the fourth before emptying the bench.
With the snow falling outside, the Cavaliers rained 12 dunks down on the Wolves.
All five Cavs starters and seven players overall scored in double figures. Three of them — Darius Garland (12 points, 12 assists) Allen (21 points, 10 rebounds) and Kevin Love (18 points, 13 rebounds) — had double-doubles.
Again playing without the injured D'Angelo Russell, the Wolves (11-15) have lost five straight. They completed their three-game homestand 0-3, with losses to Atlanta, Utah and Cleveland by a total of 60 points. .
Karl-Anthony Towns led the Wolves with 21 points. Malik Beasley had 15, Anthony Edwards 13.
The Cavs shot 54.1% overall and made 13 of 33 three-pointers. The Wolves were held under 40% shooting.
The first four-plus minutes of the game was a Cavaliers exhibition of size, ball-sharing and dunking. With Allen and Mobley combining for three ally-oop dunks, the Cavaliers broke open a close game with a 14-0 run that included three dunks and two three-pointers. By the time Wolves coach Chris Finch called his second timeout 4:31 into the game, the Cavaliers were ahead 20-4 and had made nine of 10 shots.
That lead grew to 29-10 on Isaac Okoro's layup with 3:53 left in the quarter.
Then, with mainly reserves on the floor, the Wolves were able to at least stop the bleeding. With Beasley scoring five points, the Wolves ended the quarter on a 10-5 run, cutting the Cavs' lead to 14. Cleveland shot 60% overall, making 66.7% of its threes.
The Cavs kept rolling in the second quarter. With four players scoring at least five points, and with the team making six of 10 shots, the Cavs kept building the lead.
It grew as big as 26 when Mobley's dunk with 2:12 left in the half — one of seven Cleveland dunks in the first half — put the Cavs up 63-37 before a quick 7-2 Wolves spurt cut that lead to 21 at the half.
But by halftime the Cavs already had three players in double figures, and their five starters were a combined 21-for-28 for 55 from the field. Wolves starters were 10-for-26 and had scored 26 points.
Down 25 early in the third quarter, the Wolves used a 7-0 spurt to get within 18.
It didn't last, with a 10-2 Cavs run — including three free throws and a three-pointer by Love — had the Cavs back up 26 with four-plus minutes left in the quarter.
The Wolves cut it to 19 on Naz Reid's three-pointer late, but two free throws by Love — the former Timberwolf scored 10 third-quarter points — pushed the lead back to 21 entering the fourth.
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