Sexton scores 26 points, Cavaliers edge Timberwolves 100-98

Collin Sexton scored 26 points and Jarrett Allen h a season-high 23 points and 18 rebounds, leing Cleveland Cavaliers to a 100-98 win over Minnesota Timberwolves and a split of ir home-and-home series on Monday night.

Darius Garland h 19 points and 11 assists for Cavaliers, who h lost four of ir last five games, including a 109-104 decision at Minnesota previous evening.

Allen blocked five shots and me 9 of 14 free throws in his initial start since being acquired from Brooklyn as part of James Harden mega-tre on Jan. 14.

“That was just unacceptable what happened last night for Cleveland Cavaliers with our effort,” Allen said. “We play with energy and we give it all on court. That’s what we’re all about and we showed that tonight.”

D’Angelo Russell scored 18 points and . 1 overall draft pick Anthony Edwards h 13 points in his third start for Timberwolves. Minnesota dropped its eighth straight on ro and is 2-8 overall since Jan. 13.

“We’ve got to be better,” Edwards said. “y were playing tough defense, but we’ve just got to be better. That’s it.”

Cleveland held a 98-91 le with 19 seconds remaining, but Timberwolves pulled within two after Russell buried a 3-pointer and Malik Beasley scored in lane.

Taurean Prince me two free throws with 3.9 seconds left to extend Cavaliers’ vant to 100-96, making Naz Reid’s layup just before buzzer irrelevant.

“We could get anything we wanted in paint tonight, so we wanted to attack with our bigs as much as possible,” Garland said.

Cleveland played without center Andre Drummond (sore lower back), who les NBA in rebounding at 15.1 per game. Drummond h 25 points and 22 boards in opener of back-to-back set.

“We h an opportunity to close it out a couple of times and we let m back in, but we didn’t fold,” Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff said.

Minnesota started fourth with an 11-1 run, taking its first le since first quarter at 78-77 on a putback by Jaylen well. Cleveland answered with six straight points and did t trail again.

Edwards is averaging 17.0 points and 4.0 rebounds in 30.0 minutes since being moved into starting lineup on Jan. 29.

“re are changes in way teams guard me, but it’s still basketball,” Edwards said. “It really doesn’t make any difference to me.”

TRENDING URD

Timberwolves F Juancho Hernangomez was active for first time since Jan. 13, but did t play. fourth-year pro missed eight games because of NBA’s health and safety protocols, and is still working on his conditioning. “It’s an ongoing process because you want to take care of your guys when y come back,” coach Ryan Saunders said.

TIP-INS

Timberwolves: C Naz Reid (right wrist sprain) returned after missing two games, scoring 12 points in 13 minutes off bench. ... C Karl-Anthony Towns (COVID-19) was inactive for ninth straight game and G Jarrett Culver (left ankle sprain) missed his third in a row.

Cavaliers: F Larry Nance Jr. (right wrist sprain) did t dress for third time since initially being hurt Jan. 24 at Boston. Nance h 24 rebounds over Cleveland’s previous two games, but shot 2 of 12. ... F Kevin Love (right calf strain) missed his 19th straight game, while G Matw Dellavedova (concussion) has t played this season.

UP NEXT

Timberwolves: At San Antonio on Wednesday. Spurs beat Minnesota 125-122 in overtime on Jan. 9, but Timberwolves were 96-88 winners one night later.

Cavaliers: Host Clippers on Wednesday. Los Angeles coach Tyronn Lue, who led Cleveland to 2016 NBA championship, returns as a visitor for first time.

Im credits: AP