Timberwolves vs. Cavaliers: Score, Highlights, Reaction from 2017 Regular Season

After a trip to Dallas left LeBron James miffed once again, the King reclaimed his court Wednesday.

James, Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson each had double-doubles as the Cleveland Cavaliers pulled away in the second half for a 125-97 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves. 

Ahead three points at halftime, the Cavaliers opened up a double-digit lead as part of a 30-17 third quarter. It continued a trend of dismal play coming out of the locker room for the young Timberwolves, who have the NBA's third-worst net rating in the third quarter, per NBA.com. 

The Cavaliers shot 53.3 percent as a team and hit 15 threes. It was a far cry from their lackluster effort Monday night in Dallas, which saw Cleveland held under 100 points for the first time in seven games. 

James continued his string of highly efficient offensive basketball, shooting 11-of-14 from the field while adding 12 assists and eight rebounds. He has scored at least 20 points in 18 of his last 19 games and made at least half of his shots in seven of his last eight.

Plus, since it was a nationally televised game, we get to see James do dope things like this, via the NBA:

It was the first time James has taken the court since his public war of words with Hall of Famer Charles Barkley. Miffed following Monday's loss to the Mavericks, James called Barkley a "hater" and listed the off-court transgressions the TNT analyst made while he was a player in an interview with Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com.

Barkley previously called James out for saying the Cavaliers do not have enough roster depth to compete for a championship.

"I stick by what I said, I'm not going to make this personal. ... He was all whiny last week," Barkley said on the Waddle & Silvy show on ESPN Radio on Tuesday. "... I'm good and I'm straightforward, I'm never going to get personal on an NBA player."

Ben Axelrod of Land of 10 gave his opinion while praising James:

James also received the NAACP's Jackie Robinson Sports Award in a pregame ceremony. The honor is given to "individuals in sports for their high achievement in athletics and contributions in the pursuit of social justice, civil rights and community involvement."

The offense fired on all cylinders all night thanks in large part to Irving, who committed to working the ball around with his shot not working. Irving set a career high with 14 assists to go along with his 14 points. He has hit double digits in two of his last three games after not hitting that mark in his first 11 January contests.

ESPN Stats & Info provided evidence that the Cavs are better when Irving is distributing:

Justin Rowan of Fear The Sword noted Irving's increased emphasis on assists:

Channing Frye's 18 points helped mask the absence of Kevin Love, who missed his second straight game with back spasms. Kyle Korver had his best game in a Cavaliers uniform, knocking down four threes and scoring 20 points off the bench.

The Cavs already have their version of the Korver Kounter going:

Two nights after going scoreless against the Mavericks, Thompson had 18 points and 14 rebounds. No-show against Dallas aside, Thompson has three double-doubles in his last four games.

The Timberwolves' effort was led almost entirely by Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins and Ricky Rubio. Towns had a team-high 26 points and 12 rebounds, faring well with Thompson as his primary defender. The NBA provided a video from the first quarter, during which Towns was on fire:

Wiggins finished with 23 points, while Rubio had 14 points and 13 assists. Rubio has been playing his best basketball of the season since the middle of January and might find himself indispensable to Tom Thibodeau's offense.

Shabazz Muhammad also added 16 points and six rebounds off the bench.

The Timberwolves, who had won five of their last six games coming into Wednesday night, get a travel day before playing in Detroit on Friday night.

The Cavaliers have two days off before a prime-time game against the New York Knicks on Saturday. That contest should be interesting due to the ongoing rumors about a potential Love-Carmelo Anthony trade, which surfaced again with a report by ESPN.com's Ramona Shelburne and Marc Stein.

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Postgame Reaction

James commented on the Cavaliers' passing, per the AP (via Fox Sports): ”It’s just one game. We’ve got to continue to do it. We’re not going to have 37 assists every game.”

Coach Ty Lue was a little more optimistic: ”It becomes contagious when you’re moving the basketball. When we’re doing that with the shooters we have we’re pretty dangerous.”

Korver complimented James' passing: ”He’s an incredible passer and he sees the court so well. I feel like I’ve missed a bunch of those shots.”

Towns was not happy with how the Wolves played: ”We didn’t play well. We let them play to their strengths, not to their weaknesses. You can’t give the defending champs a jump like that, especially in their home.”