James outduels Garnett as Cavs beat Wolves
(AP)
Updated: 2006-02-09 14:11

James added 11 rebounds and eight assists, just missing out on a triple-double for the second straight game. He also had plenty of help from Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Donyell Marshall.

Ilgauskas scored 10 of his 21 points in the first quarter and Marshall had 10 points and 13 rebounds.

The Cavaliers trailed by 15 midway through the first quarter, but their control of the boards allowed them to creep back in the game.

Cleveland outrebounded Minnesota 51-41 and had 16 offensive boards.

"Kevin did a masterful job of rebounding," Casey said. "We have to have somebody to help out on the boards in the paint."

Two of Minnesota's biggest players, Eddie Griffin and Mark Blount, combined to grab two rebounds.

At times it appeared as if Garnett was left to battle the Cavs alone on the boards, and it clearly wore him down in the closing minutes.

Ricky Davis led the Timberwolves with 33 points, and his 29-foot 3-pointer made the score 93-91 with 9.3 seconds left, but Ilgauskas and James closed the game out at the free throw line.

Playing against one of his former teams, Davis scored 13 points in the first quarter to help Minnesota to a 15-point lead.

When the Cavaliers shipped Davis to Boston, it was rumored that a poor relationship with James prompted the trade. But both Davis and James shot down those rumors before the game, with James saying, "There is no hard feelings between Ricky and I and there never was."

After the Wolves' fast start, Cavs coach Mike Brown switched to a zone defense for the rest of the game. That slowed the up-tempo Wolves down. They followed up 55-percent shooting in the first quarter by shooting 34 percent the rest of the way to let the lead slip away.

"The zone tonight was a big problem," Garnett said. "The zone slowed us down and made us stagnant and not as aggressive."