GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: NBA: CLEVELAND (5-6) at MINNESOTA (1-7)

NBA: CLEVELAND at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">NBA CLEVELAND 79
MINNESOTA 75 5:50 LEFT, 4TH QTR</div>

 

NBA: CLEVELAND at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">NBA CLEVELAND 83
MINNESOTA 79 3:19 LEFT, 4TH QTR</div>

 

NBA: CLEVELAND at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">NBA CLEVELAND 95
MINNESOTA 84 1:03 LEFT, 4TH QTR</div>

 

NBA: CLEVELAND at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">NBA CLEVELAND 97
MINNESOTA 86 FINAL</div>

 

NBA: CLEVELAND at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">NBA FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
CLEVELAND 24 22 26 25 97
MINNESOTA 25 17 22 22 86 FINAL

HIGH SCORERS: CLE - LEBRON JAMES 45, DREW GOODEN 17, DANIEL
GIBSON 11
MIN - AL JEFFERSON 30, ANTOINE WALKER 13,
GERALD GREEN 13</div>

 

NBA: CLEVELAND at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
NBA
CLEVELAND 97
MINNESOTA 86 FINAL</div>

 

Tom Coyer
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


MINNEAPOLIS (Ticker) -- In the Cleveland Cavaliers' lone trip tothe "Great North" this season, LeBron James showed the crowd whyhe is one of the top players in the NBA.


James finished the night with 45 points, eight rebounds and fiveassists to lead the Cavaliers to a 97-86 victory over thehapless Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday.


Drew Gooden added 17 points and Zydrunas Ilgauskas pulled down10 rebounds for Cleveland, which won for just the second time inits last five games.


After being up 46-42 at halftime, the Cavaliers maintainedcontrol in the third with second-year guard Daniel Gibsonpouring in seven of his 11 points during the period to push thelead to 72-64.


Minnesota made a push in the final quarter, trimming the deficitto 83-79 on a pair of free throws by Al Jefferson with 3:18remaining.


But James took over from there, scoring 10 straight points,including a pair of deep 3-pointers on consecutive possessions.He then stole the in-bounds pass and layed the ball in, to pushthe lead back to 91-79 with 1:43 to play.


The All-Star forward scored 17 points in the decisive finalquarter.


Cleveland held a significant free-throw advantage in thecontest, making its way to the line 33 times to 13 by Minnesota.

Jefferson collected 30 points and eight rebounds and AntoineWalker and Gerald Green added 13 points apiece off the bench forthe Timberwolves (1-8), who continue their worst start infranchise history.

 

NBA: CLEVELAND at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">CLEVELAND (97) AT MINNESOTA (86)

CLEVELAND

REBOUNDS
PLAYER POS MIN FGM-FGA FTM-FTA OFF-DEF-TOT AST PF ST TO PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===

L JAMES F 39:03 17-26 5-8 2 6 8 5 2 3 4 45
D GOODEN F 37:41 6-13 5-7 2 7 9 0 3 1 1 17
Z ILGAUSKAS C 32:52 3-6 3-4 3 7 10 0 5 1 3 9
S PAVLOVIC G 18:31 1-4 3-4 0 1 1 1 4 1 4 5
D GIBSON G 33:45 3-7 5-5 0 1 1 5 0 0 0 11
D BROWN 21:47 2-8 2-3 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 6
DW JONES 23:51 2-3 0-2 4 6 10 1 2 0 0 4
DA JONES 18:12 0-3 0-0 0 2 2 0 0 1 1 0
E SNOW 12:42 0-2 0-0 1 0 1 2 2 0 1 0
I NEWBLE 1:36 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

TOTALS 240:00 34-73 23-33 12 30 42 15 19 8 15 97
(.466) (.697) TEAM REBS: 12 TOTAL TO: 16 (0 PTS)

MINNESOTA

REBOUNDS
PLAYER POS MIN FGM-FGA FTM-FTA OFF-DEF-TOT AST PF ST TO PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===

R GOMES F 23:04 3-6 0-0 1 1 2 4 2 0 1 6
A JEFFERSON F 39:35 12-20 6-6 4 4 8 0 2 1 5 30
M DOLEAC C 19:17 0-0 0-0 1 3 4 1 1 0 1 0
R MCCANTS G 23:28 5-16 0-0 0 4 4 3 1 1 3 11
M JARIC G 25:05 4-10 1-1 0 3 3 3 3 1 0 9
M MADSEN 13:02 0-0 0-0 2 1 3 0 2 0 0 0
G BUCKNER 27:12 0-2 0-0 0 2 2 4 3 0 1 0
A WALKER 25:11 5-14 0-2 3 2 5 3 1 0 3 13
G GREEN 20:15 6-8 1-2 0 3 3 2 2 0 0 13
C RICHARD 2:05 0-1 0-0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0
C SMITH 8:10 0-2 0-0 0 1 1 0 2 0 0 0
C BREWER 13:36 2-2 0-2 0 1 1 0 2 1 1 4

TOTALS 240:00 37-81 8-13 11 26 37 20 22 4 15 86
(.457) (.615) TEAM REBS: 7 TOTAL TO: 15 (0 PTS)

CLEVELAND 24 22 26 25 - 97
MINNESOTA 25 17 22 22 - 86

BLOCKED SHOTS: CLEVELAND - Z ILGAUSKAS 4, D GOODEN 2, L JAMES 2. MINNESOTA -
A WALKER, M MADSEN, R MCCANTS, A JEFFERSON, C BREWER, G GREEN.
3-PT. FIELD GOALS: CLEVELAND 6-20 (.300), L JAMES 6-10, S PAVLOVIC 0-
1, D GIBSON 0-2, D BROWN 0-4, DA JONES 0-3. MINNESOTA 4-13 (.308),
R GOMES 0-1, R MCCANTS 1-4, M JARIC 0-1, G BUCKNER 0-1, A WALKER 3-
6.
TECHNICAL FOULS: MINNESOTA - A JEFFERSON.
FLAGRANT FOULS: NONE.
OFFICIALS: COURTNEY KIRKLAND, ELY ROE, JACK NIES.
A - 15,224. T - 2:11.</div>

 

NBA: CLEVELAND at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">CLEVELAND (97)

fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
L James 39:03 17-26 5-8 2-8 5 2 45
D Gooden 37:41 6-13 5-7 2-9 0 3 17
Z Ilgauskas 32:52 3-6 3-4 3-10 0 5 9
S Pavlovic 18:31 1-4 3-4 0-1 1 4 5
D Gibson 33:45 3-7 5-5 0-1 5 0 11
D Brown 21:47 2-8 2-3 0-0 1 1 6
Dw Jones 23:51 2-3 0-2 4-10 1 2 4
Da Jones 18:12 0-3 0-0 0-2 0 0 0
E Snow 12:42 0-2 0-0 1-1 2 2 0
I Newble 1:36 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

______________________________________________________
TOTALS 240:00 34-73 23-33 12-42 15 19 97
______________________________________________________

Percentages: FG-.466, FT-.697. 3-Point Goals:
6-20, .300 (L James 6-10, S Pavlovic 0-1, D
Gibson 0-2, D Brown 0-4, Da Jones 0-3). Team
Rebounds: 12. Blocked Shots:8 (Z Ilgauskas 4,
D Gooden 2, L James 2). Turnovers:15 (S
Pavlovic 4, L James 4, Z Ilgauskas 3, E Snow,
Da Jones, D Gooden, D Brown). Steals: 8 (L
James 3, Z Ilgauskas, Da Jones, D Gooden, D
Brown, S Pavlovic).


MINNESOTA (86)

fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
R Gomes 23:04 3-6 0-0 1-2 4 2 6
A Jefferson 39:35 12-20 6-6 4-8 0 2 30
M Doleac 19:17 0-0 0-0 1-4 1 1 0
R McCants 23:28 5-16 0-0 0-4 3 1 11
M Jaric 25:05 4-10 1-1 0-3 3 3 9
M Madsen 13:02 0-0 0-0 2-3 0 2 0
G Buckner 27:12 0-2 0-0 0-2 4 3 0
A Walker 25:11 5-14 0-2 3-5 3 1 13
G Green 20:15 6-8 1-2 0-3 2 2 13
C Richard 2:05 0-1 0-0 0-1 0 1 0
C Smith 8:10 0-2 0-0 0-1 0 2 0
C Brewer 13:36 2-2 0-2 0-1 0 2 4

______________________________________________________
TOTALS 240:00 37-81 8-13 11-37 20 22 86
______________________________________________________

Percentages: FG-.457, FT-.615. 3-Point Goals:
4-13, .308 (R Gomes 0-1, R McCants 1-4, M
Jaric 0-1, G Buckner 0-1, A Walker 3-6). Team
Rebounds: 7. Blocked Shots:6 (A Walker, M
Madsen, R McCants, A Jefferson, C Brewer, G
Green). Turnovers:15 (A Jefferson 5, A Walker
3, R McCants 3, M Doleac, C Brewer, G
Buckner, R Gomes). Steals: 4 (R McCants, M
Jaric, A Jefferson, C Brewer).

-------------------------------------------
CLEVELAND 24 22 26 25 - 97
MINNESOTA 25 17 22 22 - 86
-------------------------------------------

Technical fouls: Minnesota - 1 (A Jefferson,
6:37 3rd).
Flagrant fouls: None. A: 15,224. T: 2:11.
Officials: Courtney Kirkland, Ely Roe, Jack
Nies.</div>

 

NBA: CLEVELAND at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">CLEVELAND (97) AT MINNESOTA (86)

CLEVELAND

REBOUNDS
PLAYER POS MIN FGM-FGA FTM-FTA OFF-DEF-TOT AST PF ST TO PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===

L JAMES F 39:03 17-26 5-8 2 6 8 5 2 3 4 45
D GOODEN F 37:41 6-13 5-7 2 7 9 0 3 1 1 17
Z ILGAUSKAS C 32:52 3-6 3-4 3 7 10 0 5 1 3 9
S PAVLOVIC G 18:31 1-4 3-4 0 1 1 1 4 1 4 5
D GIBSON G 33:45 3-7 5-5 0 1 1 5 0 0 0 11
D BROWN 21:47 2-8 2-3 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 6
DW JONES 23:51 2-3 0-2 4 6 10 1 2 0 0 4
DA JONES 18:12 0-3 0-0 0 2 2 0 0 1 1 0
E SNOW 12:42 0-2 0-0 1 0 1 2 2 0 1 0
I NEWBLE 1:36 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
D NICHOLS DNP - COACH'S DECISION
S BROWN DNP - COACH'S DECISION

TOTALS 240:00 34-73 23-33 12 30 42 15 19 8 15 97
(.466) (.697) TEAM REBS: 12 TOTAL TO: 16 (19 PTS)

MINNESOTA

REBOUNDS
PLAYER POS MIN FGM-FGA FTM-FTA OFF-DEF-TOT AST PF ST TO PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===

R GOMES F 23:04 3-6 0-0 1 1 2 4 2 0 1 6
A JEFFERSON F 39:35 12-20 6-6 4 4 8 0 2 1 5 30
M DOLEAC C 19:17 0-0 0-0 1 3 4 1 1 0 1 0
R MCCANTS G 23:28 5-16 0-0 0 4 4 3 1 1 3 11
M JARIC G 25:05 4-10 1-1 0 3 3 3 3 1 0 9
M MADSEN 13:02 0-0 0-0 2 1 3 0 2 0 0 0
G BUCKNER 27:12 0-2 0-0 0 2 2 4 3 0 1 0
A WALKER 25:11 5-14 0-2 3 2 5 3 1 0 3 13
G GREEN 20:15 6-8 1-2 0 3 3 2 2 0 0 13
C RICHARD 2:05 0-1 0-0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0
C SMITH 8:10 0-2 0-0 0 1 1 0 2 0 0 0
C BREWER 13:36 2-2 0-2 0 1 1 0 2 1 1 4

TOTALS 240:00 37-81 8-13 11 26 37 20 22 4 15 86
(.457) (.615) TEAM REBS: 7 TOTAL TO: 15 (23 PTS)

CLEVELAND 24 22 26 25 - 97
MINNESOTA 25 17 22 22 - 86

BLOCKED SHOTS: CLEVELAND - Z ILGAUSKAS 4, D GOODEN 2, L JAMES 2. MINNESOTA -
A WALKER, M MADSEN, R MCCANTS, A JEFFERSON, C BREWER, G GREEN.
3-PT. FIELD GOALS: CLEVELAND 6-20 (.300), L JAMES 6-10, S PAVLOVIC 0-
1, D GIBSON 0-2, D BROWN 0-4, DA JONES 0-3. MINNESOTA 4-13 (.308),
R GOMES 0-1, R MCCANTS 1-4, M JARIC 0-1, G BUCKNER 0-1, A WALKER 3-
6.
TECHNICAL FOULS: MINNESOTA - DEFENSIVE THREE.
FLAGRANT FOULS: NONE.
OFFICIALS: COURTNEY KIRKLAND, ELY ROE, JACK NIES.
A - 15,224. T - 2:11.</div>

 

NBA: CLEVELAND at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">CLEVELAND (97)

fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
L James 39:03 17-26 5-8 2-8 5 2 45
D Gooden 37:41 6-13 5-7 2-9 0 3 17
Z Ilgauskas 32:52 3-6 3-4 3-10 0 5 9
S Pavlovic 18:31 1-4 3-4 0-1 1 4 5
D Gibson 33:45 3-7 5-5 0-1 5 0 11
D Brown 21:47 2-8 2-3 0-0 1 1 6
Dw Jones 23:51 2-3 0-2 4-10 1 2 4
Da Jones 18:12 0-3 0-0 0-2 0 0 0
E Snow 12:42 0-2 0-0 1-1 2 2 0
I Newble 1:36 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
D Nichols DNP - COACH'S DECISION
S Brown DNP - COACH'S DECISION

______________________________________________________
TOTALS 240:00 34-73 23-33 12-42 15 19 97
______________________________________________________

Percentages: FG-.466, FT-.697. 3-Point Goals:
6-20, .300 (L James 6-10, S Pavlovic 0-1, D
Gibson 0-2, D Brown 0-4, Da Jones 0-3). Team
Rebounds: 12. Blocked Shots:8 (Z Ilgauskas 4,
D Gooden 2, L James 2). Turnovers:15 (S
Pavlovic 4, L James 4, Z Ilgauskas 3, E Snow,
Da Jones, D Gooden, D Brown). Steals: 8 (L
James 3, Z Ilgauskas, Da Jones, D Gooden, D
Brown, S Pavlovic).


MINNESOTA (86)

fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
R Gomes 23:04 3-6 0-0 1-2 4 2 6
A Jefferson 39:35 12-20 6-6 4-8 0 2 30
M Doleac 19:17 0-0 0-0 1-4 1 1 0
R McCants 23:28 5-16 0-0 0-4 3 1 11
M Jaric 25:05 4-10 1-1 0-3 3 3 9
M Madsen 13:02 0-0 0-0 2-3 0 2 0
G Buckner 27:12 0-2 0-0 0-2 4 3 0
A Walker 25:11 5-14 0-2 3-5 3 1 13
G Green 20:15 6-8 1-2 0-3 2 2 13
C Richard 2:05 0-1 0-0 0-1 0 1 0
C Smith 8:10 0-2 0-0 0-1 0 2 0
C Brewer 13:36 2-2 0-2 0-1 0 2 4

______________________________________________________
TOTALS 240:00 37-81 8-13 11-37 20 22 86
______________________________________________________

Percentages: FG-.457, FT-.615. 3-Point Goals:
4-13, .308 (R Gomes 0-1, R McCants 1-4, M
Jaric 0-1, G Buckner 0-1, A Walker 3-6). Team
Rebounds: 7. Blocked Shots:6 (A Walker, M
Madsen, R McCants, A Jefferson, C Brewer, G
Green). Turnovers:15 (A Jefferson 5, A Walker
3, R McCants 3, M Doleac, C Brewer, G
Buckner, R Gomes). Steals: 4 (R McCants, M
Jaric, A Jefferson, C Brewer).

-------------------------------------------
CLEVELAND 24 22 26 25 - 97
MINNESOTA 25 17 22 22 - 86
-------------------------------------------

Technical fouls: Minnesota - 1 (Defensive
Three, 6:38 3rd).
Flagrant fouls: None. A: 15,224. T: 2:11.
Officials: Courtney Kirkland, Ely Roe, Jack
Nies.</div>

 

NBA: CLEVELAND at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">NBA FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
CLEVELAND 24 22 26 25 97
MINNESOTA 25 17 22 22 86 FINAL

HIGH SCORERS: CLE - LEBRON JAMES 45, DREW GOODEN 17, DANIEL
GIBSON 11
MIN - AL JEFFERSON 30, ANTOINE WALKER 13,
GERALD GREEN 13

HIGH REBOUND: CLE - ZYDRUNAS ILGAUSKAS 10, DWAYNE JONES 10,
DREW GOODEN 9
MIN - AL JEFFERSON 8, ANTOINE WALKER 5, TWO
PLAYERS WITH 4

HIGH ASSISTS: CLE - LEBRON JAMES 5, DANIEL GIBSON 5, ERIC
SNOW 2
MIN - GREG BUCKNER 4, RYAN GOMES 4, THREE
PLAYERS WITH 3

ATT: 15,224</div>

 

Tom Coyer
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


MINNEAPOLIS (Ticker) -- In the Cleveland Cavaliers' lone trip tothe "Great North" this season, LeBron James showed the crowd whyhe is one of the top players in the NBA.


James finished the night with 45 points, eight rebounds and fiveassists to lead the Cavaliers to a 97-86 victory over thehapless Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday.


Drew Gooden added 17 points and Zydrunas Ilgauskas pulled down10 rebounds for Cleveland, which won for just the second time inits last five games.


"They were all great shots, everything was on balance and hestepped into everything with confidence," Cavaliers coach MikeBrown said of James. "Anytime that we are able to have a closeballgame at the end, I know that he's ready to turn it on.

"I don't even worry or try to read him at all, he knows when heneeds to step up and do his thing and he did it tonight."

After being up 46-42 at halftime, the Cavaliers maintainedcontrol in the third with second-year guard Daniel Gibsonpouring in seven of his 11 points during the period to push thelead to 72-64.


Minnesota made a push in the final quarter, trimming the deficitto 83-79 on a pair of free throws by Al Jefferson with 3:18remaining.


But James took over from there, scoring 10 straight points,including a pair of deep 3-pointers on consecutive possessions.He then stole the in-bounds pass and layed the ball in, to pushthe lead back to 91-79 with 1:43 to play.


The All-Star forward scored 17 points in the decisive finalquarter including eight points in a 35-second span to putCleveland up 14 with 1:43 left.


"That pretty much put the nail in the coffin," James said. "Ifelt comfortable, I got a few good looks at threes and they wentdown. I played the passing lane and got a good steal, too.That pretty much did it for them."


Cleveland held a significant free-throw advantage in thecontest, making its way to the line 33 times to 13 by Minnesota.

Jefferson collected 30 points and eight rebounds and AntoineWalker and Gerald Green added 13 points apiece off the bench forthe Timberwolves (1-8), who continued their worst start infranchise history.


Coach Randy Wittman was frustrated with his team's lack offight.


"We have guys that, when we get punched in the mouth, we quit.We stop playing instead of throwing something back," Wittmansaid. "Whether it hits or doesn't hit, we have to throwsomething back."

 

Tom Coyer
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


MINNEAPOLIS (Ticker) -- In the Cleveland Cavaliers' lone tripto the "Great North" this season, LeBron James showed the crowdwhy he is one of the top players in the NBA.


James finished the night with 45 points, eight rebounds and fiveassists to lead the Cavaliers to a 97-86 victory over thehapless Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday.


Drew Gooden added 17 points and Zydrunas Ilgauskas pulled down10 rebounds for Cleveland, which won for just the second time inits last five games.


"They were all great shots, everything was on balance and hestepped into everything with confidence," Cavaliers coach MikeBrown said of James. "Anytime that we are able to have a closeballgame at the end, I know that he's ready to turn it on.

"I don't even worry or try to read him at all, he knows when heneeds to step up and do his thing and he did it tonight."

After being up 46-42 at halftime, the Cavaliers maintainedcontrol in the third with second-year guard Daniel Gibsonpouring in seven of his 11 points during the period to push thelead to 72-64.


Minnesota made a push in the final quarter, trimming the deficitto 83-79 on a pair of free throws by Al Jefferson with 3:18remaining.


"It was a winnable game for us," Jefferson said. "We were downsix, we had a chance, and LeBron came down and hit tow bigthrees."


But James took over from there, scoring 10 straight points,including a pair of deep 3-pointers on consecutive possessions.He then stole the in-bounds pass and layed the ball in, to pushthe lead back to 91-79 with 1:43 to play.


"That pretty much put the nail in the coffin," James said. "Ifelt comfortable, I got a few good looks at threes and they wentdown. I played the passing lane and got a good steal, too.That pretty much did it for them."


Cleveland held a significant free-throw advantage in thecontest, making its way to the line 33 times to 13 by Minnesota.

Jefferson collected 30 points and eight rebounds and AntoineWalker and Gerald Green added 13 points apiece off the bench forthe Timberwolves (1-8), who continued their worst start infranchise history.


"(Jefferson) has been a tough cover for us before," Brown said."He's never played the extended minutes against us like he didtonight. He is a remarkable talent. He's strong and quick, andwith him being strong and quick the way he can shoot that jumphook, there is no one that can touch him."


Coach Randy Wittman was frustrated with his team's lack offight.


"We have guys that, when we get punched in the mouth, we quit.We stop playing instead of throwing something back," Wittmansaid. "Whether it hits or doesn't hit, we have to throwsomething back."