Inconsistent Cavaliers fail to overcome late Timberwolves surge

Cleveland Cavaliers chokes in another collapse

The Cleveland Cavaliers suffered another late collapse to surrender a 110-102 loss on the road against the Minnesota Timberwolves. After a spirited win just two nights ago in Portland, the Cavs appear to run out of steam at the end of this one.

Despite building a lead that went up to as much as 14 early in the third period, Cleveland deflated in that half to fall behind by as much as 13 in the final quarter and Minnesota simply raced towards the finish.

Tower City duo of Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen each finished with 19 points and eight boards for the Cavs while Darius Garland added 15 markers. Donovan Mitchell, who was initially reported as questionable with an illness, suited up and finished with 14 points but was obviously unwell and shot a dismal 5-of-16 clip from the field.

On the other hand, the Timberwolves’ rising star Anthony Edwards led all scorers with 26 points to go with seven assists and six rebounds in the win.

The Cavs still can’t stay consistent

Caris LeVert was the only Cavs player to finish with double-figures off the bench against the Wolves, with all starters but Isaac Okoro also reaching that mark. A balanced offensive attack usually bodes well for Cleveland, but having their best player in Mitchell not performing up to his standard because of an illness hurt them late.

This was one of the main problems for the Cavaliers last season: when it comes right down to it, they struggled to have a go-to scorer to lead on. Mitchell had been the one to put out fires for the team this year whenever opponents go on runs.

Sliding back to 27-17 means the Cavs are back down to fifth place in the razor-thin Eastern Conference postseason race but also still a game and a half behind the second-placed Brooklyn Nets and half a game below the Milwaukee Bucks for third.

The Cleveland Cavaliers will look to bounce back from this up-and-down road trip and start a proper win streak when they return home to the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse to host a matinee matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans on January 16th.