Words by Roman White
Cleveland Cavaliers Point Guard, Isaiah Thomas, was ejected from Monday’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves after clothes lining T-Wolves Forward Andrew Wiggins. With the Cavaliers already down 30 at the time, it’s safe to say there may have been some frustration from the Away team that caused this rare flagrant 2 foul.
As former Kansas Jayhawk and 2014 NBA Rookie of the year Andrew Wiggins blew past Cavs guard J.R. Smith, IT4 stepped in and essentially slapped Wiggins in the face – a foul that could not be argued as an attempt at stealing the ball. Thomas was issued a flagrant 2 and was ejected from the remainder of the game which at that point had already been a blowout. The 5 ft 9 point guard left the game with 9 points on 3 for 11 shooting.
The Wolves finished off the elite Cavaliers squad with a 127-99 victory at the Target Center in Minneapolis. Wiggins lead the team in scoring with 25 points while Wolves Big Man Karl Anthony-Towns posted a double-double with 19 points and 12 boards. Taj Gibson also posted a double-double netting 16 points and 13 rebounds while offseason acquisition, Jimmy Butler, posted 21 points, 9 assists and 8 rebounds.
Despite holding third place in the Eastern Conference, the Cavaliers have been less than spectacular this season. Thomas is expected to be the X-factor for Cavaliers success this season (aside from LeBron James of course) but is still on a minutes restriction after returning from a back injury that kept him from the latter portion of his playoff run in 2017. However, the veteran team is still the top threat in the Eastern Conference and is likely to rally leading up to the NBA Playoffs as they have done since LeBron returned to Cleveland.
As for the Timberwolves, harboring two former Rookie of the Year players in Karl Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins and quality head coach in Tom Thibodeau, they’re showing a lot of promise as contenders in the Western Conference. They currently lead the Northwest Conference with a 26-16 record and are currently in 4th overall in the always competitive Western Conference.
