Recap: Minnesota vs. Cleveland

Sports Network | October 30, 2009

Minneapolis, MN (Sports Network) - LeBron James scored 24 points, hauled in nine rebounds and doled out six assists to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to their first win of the season, a 104-87 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center.

Mo Williams tallied 20 points and six helpers for the Cavs, who moved to 1-2 on the young season. Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 15 points and Daniel Gibson 14 in the win. Anderson Varejao chipped in 13 points and 11 rebounds. Shaquille O'Neal had seven rebounds, six points and three blocks.

"I think it's good that we keep playing a lot of games," said Ilgauskas. "We get a chance to fix things on the floor. We're right where we need to be offensively and defensively."

Jonny Flynn gave 17 points for Minnesota, which fell to 1-1 on the year. Al Jefferson offered 12 points and eight boards, while Corey Brewer scored 11 points.

The Cavs were up 25-18 after the first quarter and increased their lead to 57-47 at the break.

Varejao's finger roll and Jamario Moon's layup gave the Cavs a 78-61 lead with 4:16 left in the third.

The T'Wolves trimmed it to 83-68 headed to the final frame.

Cleveland's lead never dipped below 15 points in the final 12 minutes.

"It's hard to come back on good teams," said Flynn. "It was great (being on the floor with James). To go out there and play with a living legend is great."

Cleveland, which opened the season with back-to-back losses didn't lose consecutive games last season until February...Cleveland took both meetings with Minnesota in 2008-09 and has won eight straight and 11 of the last 17 meetings in this series. The Cavaliers have won their last five trips to the Target Center.