Cavs start new month with much-needed win vs. Wolves
CLEVELAND -- Kyrie Irving passed for a career-high 14 assists to go with his 14 points and LeBron James had 27 points and 12 assists in the Cleveland Cavaliers' 125-97 victory Wednesday against the Minnesota Timberwolves. It was a much-needed jolt to start the month of February after they struggled through a miserable 7-8 January.
It's the most points the Cavs scored in a game since a Dec. 7 home win against the Knicks. They've now won three of their last four games.
Irving and James combined for 26 of the Cavs' 37 assists -- which is why they held a free agent workout earlier in the day featuring Mario Chalmers, Kirk Hinrich, Jordan Farmar and Lance Stephenson. James has been persistent in mentioning the Cavs' need for more playmakers.
Tristan Thompson scored 18 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, Channing Frye scored 18 points starting in place of the injured Kevin Love and Kyle Korver scored 20 points off the bench.
Karl Anthony-Towns scored 26 points and grabbed 12 rebounds and Andrew Wiggins scored 23 points against his former team. The Timberwolves lost for just the fourth time in their last 12 games.
The Cavs started slowly before building a 20-point lead in the third quarter. Irving's layup in transition off a pass from James pushed the lead to 90-70 with four minutes left in the third and the Cavs weren't really challenged again.
It has been an eventful week for James, who blistered TNT analyst Charles Barkley following Monday's loss at Dallas. James dug up all of Barkley's public failings in an interview with ESPN after Barkley said James asking for more help is proof he doesn't like to compete.
James showed no remorse Wednesday for calling out Barkley's past, which included throwing a man through a window and insisting he's not a role model.
"I know what I said and I meant it," James said. "I don't know what he said (in response). I don't get involved with it."
NOTES: F Andrew Wiggins is averaging 28.8 points against the Cavs, the team that drafted him No. 1 overall in 2014. It's his highest average against any team in the league. "When you come to a team and you're the No. 1 pick and you get traded, if you're a great player, a player that's competitive, you're going to try and play great against that team, Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said. "He's done that." ... F LeBron James was presented with the NAACP's Jackie Robinson Award prior to the game for his work pursuing social justice, civil rights and community involvement. ... The Cavs held a free-agent workout Wednesday that included Mario Chalmers, Lance Stephenson, Kirk Hinrich and Jordan Farmar. Lue would not comment on the workout or if they will sign any of those players. ... Lue will have his No. 10 jersey retired at Nebraska Thursday night. Lue, 39, said it took this long because the school previously had a policy not to retire jerseys of players who didn't graduate from there. ... The Timberwolves visit Detroit on Friday. ... The Cavs play at the Knicks on Saturday.