Cleveland Cavaliers: 3 takeaways from loss to Minnesota Timberwolves

The Cleveland Cavaliers received their second lesson (as head coach Tyronn Lue would say in regards to losses) of the year with a 131-123 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

This was was a tale of two halves for the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs started out well, but the wheels fell off at the end of the first quarter when the second unit entered the game. Bad defense, unnecessary turnovers, and a lack of communication on both ends of the floor allowed Minnesota to jump out to a 21-point lead.

Once again, the Cavs did a great job of battling back and making a game out of it. Cleveland pulled within four, but they couldn’t get a timely shot when they needed it.

Jimmy Butler dominated the game as he finished with 33 points, seven rebounds, four steals, and two blocks. Noted Cavalier killer Andrew Wiggins poured in 22 points en route to victory.

Kevin Love led the way for the Cavaliers with 25 points, 19 boards, and seven assists. Love once again struggled to find his shot as he went 6-for-19 from the field, but he did a great job of staying aggressive and forcing his way to the line.

Jordan Clarkson had another solid shooting outing as he provided 19 points off the bench on 8-of-14 shooting.

The story of the game was the performances of Cedi Osman and Collin Sexton. Osman filled up the stat sheet with 22 points, eight assists, three boards, and a steal. Sexton bounced back from a difficult first night with 14 points on six-of-nine shooting.

Here’s what we learned from the loss.