Cavaliers-Timberwolves Preview

By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN
Posted Jan 05 2012 1:15PM

Kyrie Irving and Derrick Williams were the top picks in last year's draft, but the potential matchup to watch Friday night when the Cleveland Cavaliers face the Minnesota Timberwolves is between Irving and Ricky Rubio.

Irving and Rubio are the top rookies in assists per game heading into their first meeting at the Target Center.

Cleveland (3-3) and Minnesota (2-4) finished with the league's worst records a season ago, paving the way for the Cavaliers to select Irving with the draft's top selection and the Timberwolves to take Williams at No. 2.

While Williams is coming off the bench to average 7.2 points and 4.2 rebounds, Irving has established himself as Cleveland's starting point guard. Irving's 14.2 scoring average leads all rookies, and his 5.3 assists per game are the second-best mark among first-year players.

Irving is looking to bounce back after he missed 10 of 13 shots and finished with 12 points and four assists in Wednesday's 92-77 loss at Toronto in the second half of back-to-back games.

"I'm feeling pretty good, my body feels alright." Irving said. "I got banged up a little bit out there, I fell to the floor a few times but I'm good. I'm going to take advantage of this day off and take care of my body the best I can and just get ready for Minnesota."

The player ahead of Irving among rookies in assists is Rubio, totaling 7.0 per game to lead all reserves. Rubio was drafted fifth overall by Minnesota in 2009, and has received plenty of minutes backing up Luke Ridnour.

The Spanish guard notched his second double-double with 12 points and 10 assists Wednesday in a 90-86 home loss to Memphis. Minnesota missed a chance to win three straight, and its four losses have come by a combined 13 points.

"We're young, we know, and of course we're going to improve, but we have to do it right now," Rubio told the Timberwolves' official website. "It depends on us. We have to improve, we know it."

The Timberwolves committed 17 turnovers, and are last in the league with 19.3 per game.

"They were way too lax in their approach," coach Rick Adelman said.

With Irving and Rubio taking the spotlight on the perimeter, the focus on the interior will be on Kevin Love. The fourth-year big man is second in the league with 15.0 rebounds per game with double-doubles in every contest.

Love is the first player to have at least 20 points and 12 rebounds in each of his team's first six games since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1975. Love averaged 22.0 points and 18.5 boards as Minnesota swept two games from Cleveland last season after losing the previous nine when LeBron James was with the Cavs.

Cleveland continues to rebuild around young players without James, with rookie Tristan Thompson joining Irving as a player vital to its future. Thompson, the fourth overall pick, had his worst game Wednesday by missing all five shots for one point and three rebounds.

"I thought he didn't play well at all," coach Byron Scott said. "But he isn't the only one. Looking at that scorecard, we didn't have many guys that played well."

Jamison, Irving lead Cavs over Timberwolves 98-87

By JON KRAWCZYNSKI
Posted Jan 06 2012 11:46PM

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) The young and inexperienced Minnesota Timberwolves figured a night against lowly Cleveland would be an easy one to get them back in the win column.

Antawn Jamison and Kyrie Irving showed some signs that the Cavaliers may not be the pushovers they have been since LeBron James left.

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

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.

"Every once in a while the old people can get in there and play a little bit," the 36-year-old Jamison said. "But the thing I like about it, we're just playing as a team. We don't care about recognition or anything like that and that's the way we have to keep it."

Cleveland started 4-3 last season as well, but won just 15 more games the rest of the way. With Irving at the point and Jamison playing as though he's 10 years younger, the Cavs hope this season is the foundation for a rebirth post-LeBron.

"There's still a lot of room to improve on both ends of the floor, and I think at times we do tend to lose a little focus for whatever reason," coach Byron Scott said. "But for a young team like we have, to close out the games the way we've been closing out, it's pretty good."

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.

"A couple guys in the locker room were saying this is the first time it felt like it was last year," rookie Derrick Williams said, referring to the team's 17-65 finish. "I wasn't here last year, but from the looks on their faces you can really tell we don't want it to be like last year."

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, who had 13 points and 12 boards, scored on a putback and Jamison drilled a 3-pointer to push the lead back to 17 and seal it.

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 on Friday night.

Minnesota didn't score a single point in transition through the first 41 minutes as Cleveland's physical backcourt held the Wolves in check.

"We are just so hit or miss right now," Minnesota coach Rick Adelman said. "I told them, `I never said this was going to be easy,' and they are going to have to tough it out."

Michael Beasley had nine points on 4-for-12 shooting and 12 rebounds, but sprained his right foot in the final 2 minutes for Minnesota, which missed 10 free throws and shot 4 for 20 from 3-point range. Rubio finished with 10 points and five assists.

Beasley needed crutches after the game and said he could be out for a while. The Timberwolves have a back-to-back-to-back set coming up starting Sunday in Washington.

Top pick Irving, who turned the ball over seven times, got out quickly in a non-descript first half, scoring 12 points with four assists and three rebounds to help the Cavs take a 52-45 lead into halftime.

"Without these young guys, we definitely wouldn't be doing the things that we're doing," Jamison said. "They're listening and we're just going out there just trying to compete at a high level."

Williams, drafted No. 2 overall, was the only thing the Wolves had going for them early. He scored nine points on 3-for-3 shooting while Beasley, Love and Luke Ridnour combined to shoot 6 for 20.

Williams finished with 12 points.

"We can't just come to play against the NBA championship contenders," Williams said. "We've got to come to play against everybody we play."

NOTES: Anthony Tolliver shot a 3 at the start of the fourth that grazed the net, and the Wolves PA announcer said that it went in. It didn't and was wiped off the board. ... Timberwolves G JJ Barea missed his fourth game in the last five with a strained left hamstring. He is day-to-day.

Notebook: Cavaliers 98, Timberwolves 87

By Jim Beilby, for NBA.com
Posted Saturday January 7, 2012 12:35PM

THE FACTS: The Cleveland Cavaliers got their third win in their last four games and gave themselves a winning record for the first time since early last season by defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves 98-87 on Friday. Antawn Jamison led the Cavaliers with 22 points and Anderson Varejao had a solid all-around game with 13 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, and five steals. After a number of promising games (close losses to Oklahoma City and Miami and impressive wins against Dallas and San Antonio), this was the second straight game where the Timberwolves struggled. Kevin Love did get big numbers again, however, with 29 points and 14 rebounds.

QUOTABLE: "After the debacle in Toronto, obviously I wanted to see how our guys were going to respond. And I got an answer. They came back and were very focused tonight for the most part and did a lot of great things on both ends of the floor. And I thought that the second half especially with the lead, the one thing I wanted them to do is to come out and be aggressive on both ends of the floor and I thought we were able to do that as well."

-- Cleveland coach Byron Scott

THE STAT: In the battle of the first vs. the second pick in last years drafts, Kyrie Irving scored 14, grabbed five rebounds, and dished out five assists, but he also had seven turnovers. Derrick Williams scored 12 points and had four rebounds, but had no turnovers. Two games ago, against San Antonio, the Minnesota starting backcourt of Luke Ridnour and Wes Johnson were 13-for-16. Since then they are 7-for-29.

TURNING POINT: In a game largely devoid of big runs, the third quarter made the difference. After extending their lead to seven points at the half, Cleveland had better energy and execution for the lion share of the third quarter, tallying a 12-point lead and a substantial amount of momentum going into the final frame.

NOTABLE: Cleveland is in the midst of a seven-game road trip, playing two nights ago in Toronto and looking completely exhausted. Minnesota looked tired for much of the game, which could hurt them as they prepare to play three games in three nights starting Sunday.

UP NEXT: For the Wolves, Sunday @ Washington, Monday @ Toronto, Tuesday vs. Chicago. For the Cavaliers, Sunday @ Portland, Tuesday @ Utah, Thursday @ Phoenix.

• Cavaliers: Erden, Eyenga
• Timberwolves: Miller, Webster

• Cavaliers: --
• Timberwolves: --

• Lead Changes: 9
• Times Tied: 5

• Arena: Target Center, Minneapolis, MN
• Officials: #24 Mike Callahan, #28 Tommy Nunez Jr., #71 Rodney Mott
• Attendance: 16943
• Duration: 2:11