Cavaliers outwork T-wolves for 4th victory

Associated Press

minneapolis

Antawn Jamison had 22 points and six rebounds to help the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 98-87 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night.

Kyrie Irving had 14 points, five assists and five rebounds and former Timberwolves guard Ramon Sessions had 11 points, seven rebounds and six assists for the Cavaliers, who held Minnesota to three fast-break points.

Kevin Love had 29 points and 14 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who have taken two major steps backward since beating Dallas and San Antonio on successive nights to start the week.

They lost to Memphis on Wednesday night and then never really were in it Friday thanks to an uninspired effort against the Cavs. Minnesota fell to 2-3 on a five-game homestand.

Alonzo Gee, who tried out for the Timberwolves a few seasons ago, had 11 points and six boards off the bench, and the Cavs simply outworked the lackluster Wolves for the win.

The Wolves got as close as 90-78 in the fourth before Anderson Varejao scored on a putback and Jamison drilled a 3-pointer to push the lead back to 17 and seal it for the Cavs.

The Cavaliers entered the game tops in the NBA at allowing fast-break points with just 6.5 per game, and they put the brakes on Ricky Rubio and the Wolves.

Minnesota didn’t score a single point in transition through the first 41 minutes and ended up with just three for the night as Cleveland’s physical backcourt held the Wolves in check.

Michael Beasley had nine points on 4-for-12 shooting and 12 rebounds, but limped off with an injured right ankle in the final 2 minutes.