How the Timberwolves gave LeBron James the worst beatdown of his career

The Minnesota Timberwolves absolutely destroyed the Cleveland Cavaliers from the opening tip Monday night, beating the perennial championship contenders, 127-91, after leading by as many as 41 points.

For LeBron James, who finished a minus-39, it was the worst he’d been outscored in his entire professional career.

James had just 10 points in 26 minutes, tied for his lowest point total since 2014, and added eight rebounds and five assists. He only took eight shots, and turned the ball over three times. He didn’t play for the entire fourth quarter.

This type of blowout almost never happens to a James-led team, and The King is playing one of the best seasons of his legendary career.

So what happened?

Not only did James have a tough night, but Isaiah Thomas, Kevin Love, Jae Crowder, and J.R. Smith all combined for just 18 points on 6-of-30 shooting. Yikes! James was the only Cleveland starter to notch double-digit points.

Smith didn’t make a single shot from the field, Thomas went 1-of-5 from deep, and the offense was an overall wreck. Each starter registered a minus-20 or worse.

Midway through the third quarter, frustration built up and led Thomas to absolutely clothesline Andrew Wiggins with the team down 30 points.

He tried to apologize afterwards, but this was obvious cause for an ejection.

Without Thomas, Cleveland surrendered this game, pulling its starters just minutes later.

The Cavs lost big in the rebounding department, 41-29, and in turn were beat 60-42 on points in the paint. Taj Gibson had 13 for Minnesota, Karl-Anthony Towns had 12, and Gorgui Dieng had eight. Those three surmounted Cleveland’s total all by themselves.

No Cavalier had double-digit boards, and Love had all of two.

The Wolves ran inside-out basketball to perfection, dominating the paint and knocking down 10 threes.

Even without point guard playmaker Jeff Teague, the Wolves’ other four starters combined for 81 points, led by Wiggins’ 25. All four also shot better than 47 percent from the field. Towns made 8-of-11 shots from the field.

Before the game, James was asked about the Wolves’ youth, and accidentally called Tyus Jones, “Tyler.” Oops, James, that’s an NCAA National Champ and three-year NBA player!

In the second quarter, James swatted Jones’ shot so badly he was going to have to let people call him Tyler for the rest of his life if not for redemption.

But this was the Timberwolves’ night, and Jones took his opportunity and ran with it, finishing a dunk despite James’ chase-down attempt.

This was not James’ night, and Minnesota took advantage of that with a statement win. Maybe this will pump optimism into a fan base that hasn’t seen its team hit a peak just yet.

James fans shouldn’t be worried though.