Timberwolves dig deep, rally back for 110-102 victory over Cleveland

Rudy Gobert spent the second half of Saturday's game on the bench, out of action with right groin soreness. Jaden McDaniels was limited by foul trouble much of the night. The Timberwolves were playing Cleveland, one of the Eastern Conference's best teams, on the second half of a back-to-back.

So, of course, the Wolves won.

Going deep into their rotation, getting contributions from everywhere, the Wolves rallied from 13 down in the third quarter to 13 up in the fourth, eventually winning 110-102 in front of a sellout crowd at of 17,136 at Target Center that got louder every time Naz Reid dunked the ball.

Afteward Luka Garza said it felt like Reid had dunked on Cleveland's entire roster (not quite). "If I have to do that to win,'' Reid deadpanned, "that's what I'll do.''

Coach Chris Finch called the victory — the Wolves' second in a row and sixth in seven games — perhaps their most mature of the season.

It was definitely impressive.

With 8:23 left in the third quarter and Cleveland up 67-53, it seemed unlikely. But a lineup filled with reserves started the comeback. Reid had two dunks and six points, Anthony Edwards five and Jaylen Nowell four as the Wolves finished the quarter on a 24-13 run to pull within three entering the fourth.

Then a lineup of Nowell, Taurean Prince, Austin Rivers, Garza and Kyle Anderson started the fourth quarter on an 11-4 run. By the time Reid's driving bank hook dropped with 3:36 left, the Wolves had turned that 13-point deficit into a 13-point lead.

That run: 43-26 over less than 17 minutes of clock time.

"Big momentum win," said Garza, who scored seven of his nine points in the opening moments of the fourth, on a three, a 7-foot hook and a 10-foot floater.

Edwards finished with 26 points. But he was the only starter in double figures. The Wolves bench, which scored 56 points, got 17 points from Reid, 16 from Nowell, nine from Garza and seven each from Prince and Rivers. Garza, in particular, seemed unfazed by Cavs big man Evan Mobley.

"My mentality is that I can score on anybody who is in front of me," Garza said.

The Wolves' effort extended to the defensive end, too. The Wolves held Cavs star guard Donovan Mitchell to 14 points and 5-for-16 shooting.

"I loved their defense,'' Finch said. "We were really on point defensively. Rebounding well. It was all about finding rhythm on offense. Once we found that, I felt we had a good chance of making a push in the game. We started moving, cutting, and things broke loose.''

The victory evened the Wolves record at 22-22 with one game, against Utah on Monday, left on a three-game homestand. Cleveland, which got 19 points each from Mobley and Jarrett Allen, ended a five-game road swing, going home 27-17.

"Everyone on the court was willing to do all the winning plays,'' Reid said. "And we made it happen.''

There was one point in the fourth when Finch was about to put D'Angelo Russell into the game for Nowell. But then Nowell hit an 11-foot floater, was fouled, and hit the free throw. At that point Russell and Finch agreed. Nowell deserved to finish this one.

"We got vets on the bench,'' Edwards said. "They're not your usual vets, but they know what to do when they get in the game. The contributed big tonight.''

Especially Reid, who had seven rebounds and a block.

"My teammates got me involved, hyped, excited,'' Reid said. "Everyone fed off that. I can't explain it, it felt like I just went out there and did my job.''