CLEVELAND � The injured and the sick began trickling back into the Timberwolves rotation.
Andrew Wiggins, out four games with the flu, returned. Ditto for Jeff Teague and Noah Vonleh.
Given how short-handed the Wolves have been of late, it was a relative embarrassment of riches.
So that's what they did.
Almost.
Playing a Cavaliers team even more banged up than they were, the Wolves almost embarrassed themselves. They built a 25-point lead late in the third quarter, watched Dante Exum explode for 24 points in a 30-4 run that put Cleveland on top by a point with 8:26 left.
But, out of a time out, the Wolves scored 13 points � with Gorgui Dieng hitting two three-pointers � en route to a 118-103 victory Sunday.
Whew.
As it is, the Wolves (14-21) have their first two-game winning streak since late November and have won three of their last four.
It's an official winning streak.
All five Wolves starters scoring in double figures, but this game belonged to Dieng, who scored 21 points, had 13 rebounds, six assists and four blocks. Shabazz Napier scored 21 with his career-best fourth straight 20-point game. Wiggins and Robert Covington each had 15 and Jarrett Culver scored 14.
Exum cameoff the bench to score 28 points, hitting 11 of 13 shots and all four of his three-pointers.
He had 24 of those points over a period of 6 minutes and 40 seconds as the Cavs went from 25 down to one up with 8:26 left.
But, from that point on, it was 22-6 Wolves.
Collin Sexton added 19 for the Avs and Ante Zizic had 14.
The Wolves came out strong to start the game. With Culver scoring seven points Minnesota built an eight-point lead on Jeff Teague's three-point play. But the Wolves went cold � missing their final five shots of the quarter as the Cavs drew within 24-20 on two free throws by Darius Garland with under a minute left.
The Wolves pushed the lead to 42-30 on Wiggins' dunk with just under 7 minutes in the half. The Cavs responded with six straight to pull within six.
The rest of the half was pretty much all Wolves. Minnesota out-scored Cleveland 24-12 over the rest of the quarter. In that streak the Wolves shot 8-for-12. That included an impressive 5-for-5 on three-pointers.
It started with Culver's three. Then, after being fouled hard by Sexton on a three, Napier � who appeared to tweak an ankle � hit all three free throws. Up nine late in the quarter, the Wolves ended the half 16-2, with Covington hitting two three pointers, including one at the buzzer that put the Wolves up 66-48.
The Wolves lead grew as 25 in the third quarter on Reid's basket. But, with mainly Wolves reserves on the floor, the Cavs ended the quarter on a 12-2 run � with Exum scoring eight of them � to pull within 94-79 entering the fourth. The quarter included what looked like a potentially serious injury to Cavs guard Kevin Porter, Jr.
The Cavs had the ball when it appeared Porter stepped on Covington's foot, causing his knee to give way with 8:40 left in the quarter. After being attended to on the court, he was helped off the floor.
