After leading by 25, Timberwolves need final-seconds defense by Rudy Gobert to hold off Cavaliers

Darius Garland torched the Timberwolves for 51 points on Sunday, so it probably goes without saying that a point guard's strong play was the decisive factor in the game.

You're not going to believe who it was, though.

Long-missing D'Angelo Russell countered Garland's scoring outburst with a nearly perfect offensive game of his own, missing only two of his 13 shots, nailing four three-pointers, handing out 12 assists, turning the ball over only twice, and guiding the Timberwolves to a what-a-relief 129-124 victory over the Cavaliers in downtown Cleveland.

"I'm happy for him. You could tell he was locked in," Wolves coach Chris Finch said during a postgame video call about his starting point guard, who has borne the brunt of blame for Minnesota's slow start. "He came out hot. He was really locked in on his shooting. It looked good when it left his hand — but then we blew the game open when he was able to get his teammates involved."

They did, opening a 24-point lead, 99-75, late in the third quarter. But Garland, an All-Star last season, shot the Cavs back into the game in the fourth quarter, and turned the Wolves' big lead into a two-point emergency in the final minute.

But with five seconds remaining, Rudy Gobert rushed to midcourt and deflected Kevin Love's long inbounds pass by the length of a finger. Taurean Prince recovered the loose ball, and the Wolves held on to end their three-game losing streak and inflict the Cavs' first loss this season in Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.

"The guards did a great job denying the ball to their main guys. I saw [Evan] Mobley was going to be the release, and just did my job, but it started with my teammates doing theirs," said Gobert, who besides the critical steal, piled up 15 points and 13 rebounds. "In the first half, I deflected [a pass], but it ended up in Garland's hands, and he made the shot. So I'm happy it didn't happen twice."

No, what the Wolves want to happen again is Russell taking charge, and so competently, of the Wolves offense. Russell wound up with a season-high 30 points, and after enduring a miserable stretch of plus/minus outcomes this year, led the Wolves with a plus-19, easily his best performance of the season. Garland, despite being the first player to hit 50 points this season, was only plus-6.

"It's huge. Just playing the game, just being himself, being aggressive, it sets the tone for us," Gobert said. "And it wasn't just about him scoring. I felt like he was really sharp, making the right play, finding the open man. And you can tell that he's just being himself, playing within the flow of the game. It definitely sets the tone for us."

So did Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns, who dominated inside against a Cleveland front court that was missing All-Star center Jarrett Allen. Towns scored 16 points in a six-minute span of the third quarter and finished with 29 points and 13 rebounds.

"I liked our matchup," Finch said. "We did a really good job tonight, punishing them in the paint and, at times, particularly on the glass," Finch said. "Rudy and KAT were really good, offensive rebounding."

That's what this team will look like, eventually, Gobert said.

"For sure. This is a game that could have slipped away from us, and we didn't let that happen because we stayed focused. We still got some stops when we needed them, and we knocked down our free throws," the center said. "KAT did a great job, going to the offensive glass when it was there, and running back when the glass wasn't there. And for me, just trying to be myself, help him defensively. Definitely if you want to be a championship team, that's the way we want to sent the tone."

The Star Tribune did not send the writer of this article to the game. This was written using a broadcast, interviews and other material.