— Julius Randle had 28 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists to help the Minnesota Timberwolves hang on to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 131-122 on Thursday night for their fourth consecutive victory.
Randle scored 13 points in the third quarter as the Timberwolves built a 20-point lead while outscoring the Cavaliers 43-22 to match the team’s season high for points in any period. Jaden McDaniels had 26 points on 11-for-14 shooting, and Donte DiVincenzo went 6 for 10 from 3-point range to finish with 22 points as Minnesota fended off a late Cavaliers surge.
The Timberwolves (25-13) improved to 15-5 since Thanksgiving Day, the best record in the NBA over that span. They started the game on a 17-5 run and finished with season highs in field goal shooting (51 for 89, 57%) and 3-point shooting (20 for 38, 53%) percentages.
Sam Merrill had 11 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter, hitting a 3-pointer with 2:56 left for Cleveland that cut the deficit to four. Donovan Mitchell had 30 points and eight assists for the Cavaliers (21-18), who played without forward Dean Wade after he left their previous game with a bruised left knee.
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