CLEVELAND — The Cavaliers seemed to approach this one like they could win any time they really wanted to, and they turned out to be right.
Trudging along for most of the night, Cleveland turned it on down the stretch to defeat the lowly Minnesota Timberwolves 92-84 Friday at sold-out Quicken Loans Arena.
Up just four with 4½ minutes left against a Minnesota team that has the second-worst record in the NBA (12-45) and worst road mark (2-25), the lethargic Cavaliers (33-26) finally woke up and went on an 11-0 run to seal the deal.
“We buckled down on offense and especially on defense,” said LeBron James, who had 30 points, eight rebounds and 13 assists. “We were crisp the last 4½ minutes.”
Included in James’ 11 field goals were six dunks, several of the spectacular variety. Five came in the second half.
“LeBron was terrific,” Cleveland coach Mike Brown said.
James actually had 14 assists if helping up Devin Brown is counted. Problem was, Brown had fallen out of bounds when James, with the ball in his hands, reached back to lend a hand to his comrade, resulting in a turnover.
“I don’t care about the turnover,” James said. “I’ve just got to make sure my teammates are all right.”
Playing without Wally Szczerbiak, whose wife is about to give birth in Long Island, the Cavaliers also got 13 points from Devin Brown, 12 points and five assists from Delonte West, 11 points from Damon Jones, 10 points and four blocks from Zydrunas Ilgauskas and eight points, nine boards and two rejections from Ben Wallace.
Center Al Jefferson led the T-Wolves with 22 points and 10 rebounds, but he had just four points after intermission.
“We decided to turn up our aggressiveness on him and double him quicker,” Mike Brown said. “We did it as a team.”
 Rookie Corey Brewer, who at 6-foot-9 and 185 pounds makes former Cavaliers guard Larry Hughes look like Mr. Universe, added 15 points for Minnesota, while Ryan Gomes had 13.
The Cavaliers will need to play better Sunday afternoon when Chicago visits The Q, as it will mark the return of Hughes, Drew Gooden, Shannon Brown and Cedric Simmons, traded by Cleveland as part of the three-team deal that brought former Bulls Wallace and Joe Smith to town.
“It’s going to be high intensity,” James said. “It’s going to be a little personal because of the situation, but it’s going to be good to see those guys.”
There was no real intensity for most of the Minnesota game, as the only real highlight of a forgettable first half was Jones taking an outlet pass from Wallace, driving full-speed down the left side and throwing an underhand lob back to James, who came soaring in from the right for a dunk.
“I knew he was going to be looking for somebody,” James said. “He had a one-on-three and he was attacking the rim. I said, ‘Let me go ahead and take off.’”
Other than that, not much happened at all. Cleveland led 40-36 at intermission, but that was due mainly to the fact Minnesota was absolutely horrible, shooting a woeful .326 from the field over the opening two quarters.
The fact the Cavaliers led by only four is proof they weren’t anything to write home about either. Rebounder and defensive specialist Anderson Varejao was the team leader in shot attempts with 8½ minutes to go in the half, and he was 1-of-6 from the field.
Wallace had a few nice blocks in the third period, but he also got scorched for seven straight points by Gomes, whose run helped the T-Wolves tie the game at 51.
Minnesota actually went ahead 54-53 with 5:21 to go in the period, but the Cavaliers, who committed a season-low nine fouls on the night, regrouped with a quick 6-0 run and did just enough to stay ahead the rest of the way.
 Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4061 or rickn@ohio.net.

Cavaliers 92, Timberwolves 84

MINNESOTA (84): Brewer 5-10 5-5 15, Gomes 6-16 0-0 13, Jefferson 10-22 2-2 22, Telfair 4-11 0-0 11, Foye 1-9 2-2 4, McCants 4-11 0-0 11, C.Smith 4-5 0-2 8, Jaric 0-2 0-0 0, Richard 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 34-87 9-11 84.
CLEVELAND (92): James 11-22 7-9 30, Wallace 4-5 0-0 8, Ilgauskas 4-8 2-4 10, West 5-10 1-2 12, Brown 5-10 3-4 13, Varejao 2-8 0-0 4, J.Smith 1-2 0-0 2, Da.Jones 4-9 1-1 11, Dw.Jones 0-0 2-2 2, Thomas 0-0 0-0 0, Dickens 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 36-74 16-22 92.
Minnesota    20     16     23     25    —    84
Cleveland    20     20     26     26    —    92
3-Point Goals—Minnesota 7-19 (McCants 3-5, Telfair 3-7, Gomes 1-6, Foye 0-1), Cleveland 4-15 (Da.Jones 2-6, West 1-4, James 1-4, Varejao 0-1). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Minnesota 51 (Jefferson 10), Cleveland 48 (Wallace 9). Assists—Minnesota 14 (McCants 3), Cleveland 23 (James 13). Total Fouls—Minnesota 22, Cleveland 9. Technicals—Cleveland defensive three second 2. A—20,562 (20,562).

NEXT UP

WHO: Cleveland vs. Chicago
WHEN: Sunday, 1 p.m.
WHERE: The Q
TV/RADIO: FSN Ohio, Channel 5; WEOL 930-AM, WTAM 1100-AM
 

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