THE Cleveland Cavaliers And Minnesota Timberwolves each will look to bounce back from a loss in their previous match when they meet Friday night in Minneapolis.
Cleveland (43-26) just suffered a 107-104 loss at home against the Miami Heat on Wednesday night. The Cavaliers have lost two of their last three games and four of their last six games, but they remain in position to make the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Meanwhile, Minnesota (47-22) looks to turn the page after a 115-112 home loss to the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday night. That ended a three-game winning streak for the Timberwolves, who remain in contention for the top playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Both the Timberwolves and Cavaliers are dealing with injuries to key players.
Minnesota played its final game without big men Karl-Anthony Towns (knee), Rudy Gobert (ribs) and Naz Reid (concussion protocol). Towns isn’t expected to return anytime soon, and Gobert and Reid are listed as questionable for Friday’s contest.
Timberwolves leading scorer Anthony Edwards has a dislocated left middle finger, but dealt with the pain earlier this week. He scored 30 points on 13-of-26 shooting in the loss to Denver.
Minnesota guard Mike Conley said he felt encouraged despite the loss. The Timberwolves were depleted by injuries and nearly eliminated the defending champion Nuggets.
“We have confidence in everyone who plays, and to have a performance like we did (Tuesday), playing against one of the best teams, it shows a lot of courage (and) shows what we are about facts,” Conley said. “…You love seeing guys build around each other and find ways to get through it.”
Cleveland has also been plagued by injuries. It’s playing without three starters.
Donovan Mitchell has a broken nose and will be evaluated next week. He is averaging a team-high 27.4 points, along with 6.1 assists and 5.3 rebounds per game.
Evan Mobley (left ankle sprain) and Max Strus (right knee sprain) are also out. Mobley is averaging a double-double with 15.6 points and 10.2 rebounds, and Strus is averaging 12.2 points while shooting 34 percent from beyond the arc.
Mobley and Strus were ruled out of Friday’s game with Mitchell.
“All of them are closer, but I can’t give you a projected timetable,” Cavaliers coach JB Bickerstaff said.
This is the second and final regular season game between the teams.
The first game went to overtime and Cleveland won 113-104 at home. Jarrett Allen recorded a double-double in the victory with 33 points and 18 rebounds, and he also had three assists, two steals and two blocked shots.
Reid scored 34 points off the bench to lead the Timberwolves in their opener against the Cavaliers. Edwards finished with 19 points but missed 20 of 27 shots from the floor.
Minnesota is 23-9 at home this season. Cleveland is 21-12 on the road.
–Field level media
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