Donovan Mitchell scored 36 points, Darius Garland added 29 and the NBA-leading Cleveland Cavaliers took control in the second half and beat the Minnesota Timberwolves for a 124-117 on Saturday night.

With the teams tied at halftime, Cleveland (35-6) outscored Minnesota by 10 in the third quarter and opened the fourth with a 10-0 run to seize control.

Anthony Edwards scored 28 points and Julius Randle finished with 20 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists for Minnesota.

Cleveland was without forward Evan Mobley, who sat with right calf soreness, and Isaac Okoro, sidelined with a right AC joint sprain. Both played in Thursday’s loss to Oklahoma City.

Minnesota was also missing a key player as guard Donte DiVincenzo sat for the second straight game with a left great toe sprain.

Edwards became the third-youngest player in NBA history to score 8,000 points. Only LeBron James and Kevin Durant reached 8,000 points at a younger age than Edwards.

Takeaways

Cavaliers: Cleveland responded well after its biggest loss of the year, a 20-point rout by the Thunder on Thursday. The Cavs’ win prevented what would have been just their second two-game losing streak of the season.

Timberwolves: Minnesota seemed to run out of gas after halftime on the second night of a back-to-back after beating the Knicks on Friday in New York. The Wolves are 2-4 this season in the second game of back-to-backs.

Key moment

Ty Jerome scored six straight points to end the third quarter, including a three-point play with 4.1 seconds remaining in the quarter, to give Cavaliers a 10-point lead. Minnesota couldn’t recover from that double-digit deficit as the momentum swung in Cleveland’s direction.

Key stat

Cleveland had 15-point efforts from bench players Ty Jerome and Georges Niang.

Up next

Both teams play Monday. The Cavaliers host Phoenix, while the Timberwolves play at Memphis.

Associated Press

Minnesota Timberwolves (22-20, eighth in the Western Conference) vs. Memphis Grizzlies (27-15, third in the Western Conference)

Memphis, Tennessee; Monday, 2:30 p.m. EST

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Grizzlies -1.5; over/under is 218.5

BOTTOM LINE: Minnesota will try to keep its four-game road win streak intact when the Timberwolves play Memphis.

The Grizzlies have gone 14-12 against Western Conference teams. Memphis ranks sixth in the NBA averaging 14.2 made 3-pointers per game while shooting 37.3% from deep. Desmond Bane leads the team averaging 2.2 makes while shooting 37.0% from 3-point range.

The Timberwolves are 16-12 in conference games. Minnesota averages 14.8 turnovers per game and is 10-5 when turning the ball over less than opponents.

The 123.4 points per game the Grizzlies average are 15.4 more points than the Timberwolves give up (108.0). The Timberwolves are shooting 46.1% from the field, 1.2% higher than the 44.9% the Grizzlies’ opponents have shot this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Jaren Jackson Jr. is scoring 22.6 points per game with 6.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists for the Grizzlies.

Anthony Edwards is averaging 26.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.3 assists for the Timberwolves.

LAST 10 GAMES: Grizzlies: 5-5, averaging 121.7 points, 46.4 rebounds, 26.8 assists, 9.6 steals and 4.4 blocks per game while shooting 48.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 119.6 points per game.

Timberwolves: 5-5, averaging 112.9 points, 45.5 rebounds, 24.3 assists, 6.0 steals and 4.7 blocks per game while shooting 47.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 110.1 points.

INJURIES: Grizzlies: Cam Spencer: out (thumb), Marcus Smart: out (finger), Ja Morant: day to day (foot), Vince Williams Jr.: out (ankle), GG Jackson II: out (foot ).

Timberwolves: Terrence Shannon Jr.: out (ankle), Donte DiVincenzo: day to day (toe).

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.