CLEVELAND _ Kyrie Irving passed for a career-high 14 assists to go with his 14 points and LeBron James had 27 points and 12 assists in the Cavs' 125-97 victory Wednesday over the Minnesota Timberwolves. It was a much-needed jolt to start the month of February after they struggled through a miserable 7-8 January.
It's the most points the Cavs have scored in a game since a Dec. 7 home win over the New York Knicks. They've now won three of their past four games.
Irving and James combined for 26 of the Cavs' 37 assists _ which is why the team held a free-agent workout earlier in the day featuring Mario Chalmers, Kirk Hinrich, Jordan Farmar and Lance Stephenson. James has been persistent in mentioning the Cavs' need for more playmakers.
Tristan Thompson scored 18 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, Channing Frye scored 18 points starting in place of the injured Kevin Love and Kyle Korver scored 20 points off the bench.
Karl Anthony-Towns scored 26 points and grabbed 12 rebounds and Andrew Wiggins scored 23 points against his former team. The Timberwolves lost for just the fourth time in their past 12 games.
The Cavs started slowly before building a 20-point lead in the third quarter. Irving's layup in transition off a pass from James pushed the lead to 90-70 with four minutes left in the third and the Cavs weren't really challenged again.
It has been an eventful week for James, who blistered TNT analyst Charles Barkley following Monday's loss at the Dallas Mavericks. James dug up all of Barkley's public failings in an interview with ESPN after Barkley said James asking for more help is proof he doesn't like to compete.
James showed no remorse Wednesday for calling out Barkley's past, which included throwing a man through a window and insisting he's not a role model.
"I know what I said and I meant it," James said. "I don't know what he said (in response). I don't get involved with it."
The Timberwolves are one of the league's rising teams in part, James believes, because they've been allowed to grow together and make mistakes together. That includes Wiggins, the third-year pro whom the Cavs drafted No. 1 overall, only to trade him in exchange for Kevin Love prior to his first game.
"I think all those guys, they got an opportunity to play right away," James said. "You look at all of them, they've got three guys averaging 20 in Wiggins, Towns and (Zach) LaVine. By their team not having expectations from a league-wide world, it's given them opportunities to make mistakes and learn from their mistakes. So they're growing, all three of them. They've got a bright future in those three talents."
