CLEVELAND – Kevin Love predicts more will stir inside of him when he returns late next month to play in Minneapolis, the place he called home for his first six NBA seasons.

It won't be difficult to surpass what surfaced Tuesday when he played his former Timberwolves mates — at least the few healthy ones left whom he knows and recognizes — for the first time since last summer's trade that sent him to Cleveland for No. 1 overall picks Andrew Wiggins, Anthony Bennett and veteran Thaddeus Young.

"I didn't really feel much of anything, to be honest with you," he said afterward.

What he did feel was some alarming pain in his right thumb early in the third quarter, when he went to the locker room after just 43 seconds. He had it taped at practice Saturday after he got it stuck and jammed in an opponent's jersey in a game against Brooklyn last week.

He returned to action four minutes later and delivered what he did so many times for the Timberwolves, a double-double (20 points, 10 rebounds) game.

Of course, his injured hand inspired at least a couple of smart alecks on Twitter to inquire whether knuckle-pushups were the cause.

"It scared me initially," Love said. "We came back here and it just seems to be a mild, little thing. I shook it off and went back in there and played."

He played on with few emotions swirling inside him.

"It felt like just another game," Love said. "It was a game that we felt we needed to win."

Not to be forgotten

Just as Love and Wiggins did in varying ways, Bennett had something of a homecoming Tuesday, when he returned to the city and team where he played during a frustrating rookie season a year ago.

Bennett played 11 ½ minutes, didn't make a shot and had zero points, three rebounds and five fouls.

"It felt good, seeing a lot of old faces, a lot of people who helped me out along the way," Bennett said. "It's always good to say what's up and see how they're doing … I definitely wish I could have done a lot more."

Don't say that stuff

The NBA apparently called the Wolves and Flip Saunders after he said Monday that Wolves fans won't forgive Love for turning on them because the coach declined Wednesday to answer questions about Love, citing league policy.

"I try to stay off that stuff," Love said when asked about Minnesota fans and Saunders' comment. "I know when somebody leaves, they more often than not don't want to say good things about him. I think that [Saunders] was right in a lot of ways. But at the same time I made a lot of great relationships in the Twin Cities that will carry on throughout my career and post-career."

Time heals and time forgets

Love said he believes the Wolves got good value for him by acquiring Wiggins, Bennett and Young in that August trade.

"Time heals all wounds. They'll be OK," Love said. "I know it's tough right now. They have like a three-year plan, but they have a great coach and they have a great, great foundation for the future."

You can go home again

Saunders' 93-year-old father and about nine other family members and friends attended the game in Cleveland, his hometown. He said he coached his first NBA game at the Q, early in the 1995-96 season when about 4,000 people attended due to a snowstorm.

Etc.

•Injured Ricky Rubio and Nikola Pekovic stayed in Minnesota to continue their rehab for this one-game trip. Kevin Martin did make the trip and attended the Christmas Eve's eve game. He's from Zanesville, Ohio, about 110 miles from Cleveland.

•Former Cavs star Mo Williams was warmly welcomed by the Cleveland crowd when he checked into the game late in the first quarter.

•Saunders and the Wolves invited an Ohio family to be their guests right behind the Wolves bench Tuesday. Quinn Demko, a 5-year-old who was diagnosed last year with a massive brain tumor, met with Wiggins before the game and received a team ball and jersey.

•Newly acquired Troy Daniels played the game's final five minutes after the outcome had long been decided.