2015 NBA scores: Kevin Love beats Timberwolves, but Andrew Wiggins steals the show

The NBA’s No. 1 pick showed why he was selected when he was in a dominant game that had to leave Cavalier fans wondering what might have been.

by Tim Cato

Feb 1, 2015, 2:00 PM UTC

Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

Minnesota fans booed him during introductions and when he touched the ball. They even jeered during his tribute video. Kevin Love reacted with a strong double-double that helped his new team beat his old one, but on the night of his return to Minnesota, Love was outshined by the man he was traded for. Andrew Wiggins put on a show, possibly leaving Cavs fans wondering what if and allowing the Timberwolves to have the ultimate last laugh.

Wiggins scored 23 points in the first half and finished with a career-high 33 in the game, impressing with the many facets of his game. He showed skill working out of the post, even getting LeBron James to bite on a move, and also displayed his athleticism when he turned to face up. He hit three three-pointers with confidence while also adding four steals. Most importantly, he looked to be in charge of the game, calmly keeping Minnesota within striking distance of Cleveland, a team that came into the game with nine straight wins.

The Cavaliers finally pulled away on the strength of James, who dominated throughout and finished with 36 points and five assists. However, even with his incredible performance, the resemblance was uncanny.

Not bad pic.twitter.com/fXVFYN2Urb
— Zach Harper (@talkhoops) February 1, 2015

Love’s share of the win wasn’t just earned through participation. He played 36 solid minutes, scoring 14 points and snaring 17 rebounds, and his putback with 1:43 left in the game gave Cleveland a 12-point lead essentially sealed the victory. But his season-long struggles are well-known, and with Wiggins’ performance, Cavaliers fans couldn’t help but wonder “what if” their team had never made the trade and kept the No. 1 pick instead.

At this point, it’s all conjecture. The reality of who ‘won’ and ‘lost’ this trade won’t be known until years down the line, when our judgments are aided by facts, not speculation of how the future will play out.

But right now, Wiggins looks like a star, and you have to question if Timberwolves fans really should be booing Love, who inadvertently helped bring him to Minnesota.

3 other things we learned

Hawks are tested but win again, wrapping up a perfect January. Of all teams, it was the 76ers who gave Atlanta one of its toughest tests they've had during this 19-game winning streak. Philadelphia took a two-point lead with 2:51 to play, but five points from Al Horford in the final stretch was enough for another Hawks win. Atlanta is the first team in NBA history to go 17-0 in a month and won 33 of its last 35 games. Everything is leading towards an incredible confrontation with the Golden State Warriors on Feb. 6 that you should go ahead and mark down on your calendar right now.

Depleted Mavericks return to form against Orlando. The team has struggled since making the Rajon Rondo trade with a record hovering just a little above .500, including a four-game losing streak earlier this week. Is Rondo to blame, or the depleted bench, or Dirk Nowitzki's struggles? There's a lot of evidence out there that points in different directions, but it certainly doesn't help Rondo's case that he left the Mavericks game early in the first quarter after getting kneed in the face and his team scored 108 points in a blow out without him.

On the night before the Super Bowl, the NBA is fantastic. So many things happened, it was hard to keep up with. The Wizards were down big to Toronto, roared back on a game-tying Paul Pierce three-pointer and then lost in overtime. The Pistons welcomed back Josh Smith and beat his new team soundly, but the Rockets are probably just happy James Harden's knee injury doesn't appear to be serious. Oklahoma City lost for the fourth time in its last five games, piling on the concerns that the Thunder actually might miss the playoffs. On the one national television game, the Clippers soundly defeated San Antonio. It's good that the NFL is finally finishing on Sunday, because the NBA has been incredible this season and deserves the full attention of the sports world turned its direction.

Play of the Night

Nothing about this makes sense. The ball orbits the basket before Giannis Antetokounmpo flushes it. He throws it down so hard that the ball touches the ground before both of Antetokoumpo's feet do.