Cavs: Jarrett Allen dominates Timberwovles in Cleveland’s victory

The Cavaliers were victorious on Monday night, outplaying the Timberwolves in a game that may just be the tip of the iceberg for Jarrett Allen.

The Cleveland Cavaliers won their rematch with the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night to the tune of 100-98. While Collin Sexton had a game-high 26 points, it was Jarret Allen who stole the show. Filling in for Andre Drummond, Allen put up a dominating double-double of 23 points and 18 rebounds. He also had five blocks, proving to be invaluable defensively.

Darius Garland also had a nice game, himself putting up a double-double with 19 points and 11 assists. Allen and Taurean Prince filled in for Drummond and Larry Nance Jr., though unlike Allen, Prince had a less spectacular game, going 2-for-10 from the floor and 1-for-7 from three-point.

Cedi Osman led the bench scorers with 10 points but had a rough day shooting, going 4-for-12 from the floor. He did shoot 2-for-4 from three-point, however, while also pulling in seven rebounds and nabbing two steals.

Here are some other notes from the game.

Jarrett Allen and Javale McGree are more than enough

The reason to keep Andre Drummond revolves around his abilities defensively, though his offensive game has been a bit of a mixed bag. If Allen can be this efficient offensively and defensively, then trading Drummond is a must. That is, assuming Javale McGee is retained. He’s played well but needs more minutes.

Isaac Okoro has to be more aggressive with open shots

Isaac Okoro has got to take open shots. On more than one occasion he passed up what should be an easy shot and bailed out to his teammates. While the unselfish play is usually great, when you pass up a 12-foot mid-range shot to throw it to a teammate with two guys converging on him, you made the wrong call. If you’re that close and open, you have got to pull the trigger. The game is about getting open shots. Okoro has got to take them when he gets them.

Perimeter defense far more efficient in the rematch

Garland still wasn’t anything to write home about but the Timberweovles offense had a much harder time getting things going. Malik Beasley and Anthony Edwards combined for 46 points on Sunday, but only 23 points on Monday.