Timberwolves ride balanced effort past Cavaliers for fourth straight win

Minnesota had a little bit of everything in Thursday night's win over Cleveland.

Jan 8, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen (31) defends against Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert (27) him in the first quarter at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images | Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images

The Timberwolves had a little bit of everything in a 131-122 victory over the Cavaliers on Thursday night at the Target Center, as their current win streak now sits at four.

It was Cleveland that jumped out to an early 67-63 halftime lead. The Wolves exploded for a 43-22 third quarter to take a commanding 106-89 lead after 45 minutes.

AE FOR THREEEEEE pic.twitter.com/AZeUhdOZrf

— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) January 9, 2026

Subscribe: Sign up to receive the free Timberwolves On SI newsletter

Minnesota's starting lineup accounted for 85.4% of its total points. Julius Randle led the way with a team-high 28 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists on 10 of 22 shooting from the field. Anthony Edwards had 25 points, Jaden McDaniels had 24 and Donte DiVincenzo had 22. Rudy Gobert had another double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds.

Cleveland stormed all the way back to make it a six-point game with only 30 seconds to go. The biggest box score discrepancy was the Wolves' 20 of 38 (53%) night from three-point range, compared to a 11 of 33 (33%) mark for the Cavs, which helped Minnesota hold onto a 131-122 win.

The Wolves are still firmly in the top six of the Western Conference standings, and their performance on Thursday night still showed that they are tough to beat when they're playing their best basketball. Cleveland has taken a bit of a step back this season, but it looked completely overmatched against the Minnesota starting lineup.

The Timberwolves are now 25-13 with their fourth win in a row. They will be off on Friday night before hitting the road to face the Cavaliers in Cleveland on Saturday. That game will tip off at 12 p.m. CT on Prime Video.