CLEVELAND — Quietly but surely, the Cleveland Cavaliers are making a statement in the National Basketball Association’s Eastern Conference, even when they have key players on the sideline.
On March 8, thanks to 34 points from Darius Garland and 33 from Jarrett Allen, the Cavs notched another big NBA victory by outlasting the Western Conference contenders Minnesota Timberwolves 113-104 in overtime.
Cleveland, which overcame a 22-point fourth-quarter deficit to stun the league-leading Boston Celtics on March 5, held on for the victory over a team that had arrived as the West’s leader, but ended the night half a game behind the Oklahoma City Thunder. – who beat the Miami Heat 107-100.
“It energizes us when everyone comes back,” Allen said of their latest home win that puts them at 41-22, just behind the Celtics (48-14). “Contrary to popular belief, we are better when everyone is in line.”
It was a wake-up call to the rest of the league.
The Cavs, without injured starters Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley and Max Strus, still found the firepower to defeat Minnesota, who were coming off a grueling victory against the Indiana Pacers on March 7.
Allen’s career high included 10 points in overtime when the Timberwolves were without star center Rudy Gobert, who fouled out with 27 seconds left in regulation.
Angry at the foul, Gobert made a “money” gesture toward a referee and was charged with a technical foul.
Garland made the technical free throw to tie the game at 97-97 and force overtime.
Gobert said he thought his reaction was “the truth” but admitted it was an ill-advised move.
“It cost my team the match,” he said. “It was an immature reaction. But it’s not just a simple call… when it’s repeated, over and over again, it’s of course frustrating.”
Micah Nori, who replaced Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch after Finch fell ill before tipoff, called Gobert’s actions at a crucial moment in the game “unacceptable.”
“That’s who Rudy is, but you have to be smart,” he said.
“He was visibly frustrated, both teams were, but we have to be smarter.”
Naz Reid scored a career-high 34 points for Minnesota and Anthony Edwards added 19, but was held scoreless in the fourth quarter and overtime.
“We tried to show him as much body as possible,” Garland said of defender Edwards, who had 44 points in the 113-111 win over Indiana.
“We knew he played a tough game last night against Indiana, so we just tried to wear him down with a lot of bodies and just be a little physical with him.”
Minnesota’s loss was Oklahoma City’s gain, with the Thunder erasing a 14-point deficit to beat the Heat at home. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 23 of his 37 points in the second half to fuel the turnaround.
In Los Angeles, the Lakers beat Eastern Conference contenders Milwaukee 123-122 with superstar LeBron James sidelined with a sore ankle.
In his absence, D’Angelo Russell scored a game-high 44 points, while Giannis Antetokounmpo had 34 for the Bucks – who fell to 41-23 behind the Cavs.
James, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer who on March 2 surpassed the 40,000 career point mark in the regular season, left late in the fourth quarter of the Lakers’ loss to Sacramento on March 6.
He said after the match that it was the same problem with his left ankle that he had before this season and that he expected everything to be “fine”, but he was ruled out for a few hours before the Bucks game.
In Washington, the Wizards ended a 16-game losing streak with a 112-100 victory over the Charlotte Hornets.
Kyle Kuzma led the Wizards with 28 points and Deni Avdija added 18 for Washington, which had tied the franchise’s longest losing streak but avoided doing worse. AFP
