Rookie Darius Garland and second-year backcourt partner Collin Sexton each scored 18 points, and the Cavaliers overcame an NBA season tying-high 29 turnovers to hold off the Minnesota Timberwolves 94-88 on Saturday.
A night after scoring 30 in Boston, Cavs veteran forward Kevin Love sat in street clothes while nursing a right hip contusion. Cleveland all but tried to give the game away with a rash of poor ballhandling and passes — the 29 turnovers tied Sacramento’s mark, set Dec. 15 at Golden State.
Luckily for Cleveland, though, Minnesota was missing its two best players. The Wolves struggled to get any offensive flow without Karl-Anthony Towns (knee) and Andrew Wiggins (flu-like symptoms). The Cavs also took advantage of Towns’ absence on the boards, grabbing a season-high 61 rebounds.
Tristan Thompson added 12 points and 15 rebounds for the Cavaliers and served as Cleveland’s veteran presence on the floor with Love out. A night after playing nearly 30 minutes in Boston, he logged 35 minutes against the Timberwolves and made his presence felt despite shooting only 2 of 9.
Thompson went 8 of 10 from the foul line.