The NBA-leading Cavaliers took control in the 2nd half, beating the Timberwolves 124-117

MINNEAPOLIS — — Donovan Mitchell scored 36 points, Darius Garland added 29 and the NBA-leading Cleveland Cavaliers took control in the second half to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 124-117 on Saturday night.

With the teams tied at halftime, Cleveland (35-6) outscored Minnesota by 10 in the third quarter and opened the fourth with a 10-0 run to take control.

Anthony Edwards scored 28 points and Julius Randle finished with 20 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists for Minnesota.

Cleveland was without forward Evan Mobley, who sat out with right calf soreness, and Isaac Okoro, who was sidelined with a right AC joint sprain. Both played in Thursday’s loss to Oklahoma City.

Minnesota was also missing a key player as guard Donte DiVincenzo sat for the second straight game with a left big toe sprain.

Edwards became the third-youngest player in NBA history to score 8,000 points. Only LeBron James and Kevin Durant reached 8,000 points at a younger age than Edwards.

Takeaways
Cavaliers: Cleveland responded well after its biggest loss of the year, a 20-point rout by the Thunder on Thursday. The Cavs’ win prevented what would have been just their second two-game losing streak of the season.

Timberwolves: Minnesota appeared to run out of gas after halftime on the second night of a back-to-back after beating the Knicks on Friday in New York. The Wolves are 2-4 this season in the second game of back-to-backs.

Key moment
Ty Jerome scored six straight points to end the third quarter, including a three-point play with 4.1 seconds left in the quarter, to give the Cavaliers a 10-point lead. Minnesota couldn’t recover from the double-digit deficit as the momentum swung in Cleveland’s direction.

Key State
Cleveland had 15-point efforts from bench players Ty Jerome and Georges Niang.

Next
Both teams play on Monday. The Cavaliers host Phoenix while the Timberwolves play in Memphis.

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AP NBA: