CLEVELAND – Karl-Anthony Towns was not exactly in the flow.
He had only taken one shot in the fourth quarter, and hadn't made a shot since late in the third, by the time the ball came to him at the top of the key with the clock ticking down on a tie game Monday night.
No hesitation.
Indeed, no question he wanted the ball. In fact, listening to him, he had been waiting for this moment.
Towns' three-pointer from just left of the top of the key, after a pick-and-roll with D'Angelo Russell, rattled home with 12.4 seconds left, breaking a tie and sending the Timberwolves to a 127-122 victory over the Cavaliers.
So what if he wasn't in a rhythm?
"In the back of my mind, I knew the basketball gods would give me one shot," Towns said. "At the end of the game, I'm going to get one chance to get a really good look and in essence try to put the win in our team's pocket. I just had to be ready for that moment."
That the moment was necessary was a testament to a game that had a series of seismic shifts. For example:
- The Wolves (33-29) looked lost at the start while falling behind by 14 late in the first quarter. But the bench — which was spectacular at times Monday — got the ball moving, and the ball rolling. From 4:10 left in the first quarter to late in the third, the Wolves reserves led by Jaden McDaniel and Taurean Prince scored 31 points in a 50-28 run.
- Pouncing on turnovers forced against a Cavs team playing without guards Darius Garland and Caris LeVert, the Wolves starters got in on the party in a dynamic third quarter in which they led by as many as 23.
- Only to have Cavs reserves Kevin Love (26 points) and Cedi Osman (21) lead a charge that brought Cleveland (36-25) all the way back to tie the score at 122 on Osman's three with 33.8 seconds left.
Enter the basketball gods.
Or, at least, D'Angelo Russell.
To Wolves coach Chris Finch's credit, he didn't call a timeout after Osman's shot, instead calling out a play as the ball moved up the court. Towns said he was expecting Russell to take the shot or to drive. But Russell wanted to get the ball to Towns. "He said no," Towns said. "So I said, all right."
Russell said he had been waiting all game to put Towns in that position.
Towns ran to his spot, got the ball, had space, and let a three-pointer go in the same building he won the NBA's three-point shooting contest during All-Star Weekend two weeks earlier.
"When I let go of the ball, [Prince] was telling me in there, when I shot the ball he said, 'Cash Money Records.'" Towns said. "It felt pretty good when it left my hands."
There was still work to do. Osman missed a three, but the ball went out of bounds. The officials ruled it was Cleveland's ball with 4.6 seconds left. Finch, who had saved his challenge, used it. The call was reversed, and Russell hit two free throws to ice the game.
BOXSCORE: Wolves 127, Cleveland 122
There were some troubling moments in the game. But the Wolves, especially Finch, hung on to the positive signs. The on-ball defense, especially in the third quarter. The play of the bench, with McDaniels (17 points) and Prince (15).
The points of the players down the stretch. Russell led the team with 25 points, nine in the fourth. Anthony Edwards (17 points) continued to show he was finding a rhythm again. Patrick Beverley (11 points, six assists), at only 6-1, often guarding Cleveland bigs.
And the poise.
"Proud of the guys,'' Finch said. "The game gave us everything. It had lots of swings, but we stayed really on an even plateau."
