CLEVELAND -- Random dribbles on the Cavaliers' fairly easy 125-104 win over Andrew Wiggins and the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday:
1. The Cavs won this game by 21 points and it felt like it should've been 71. With starters Nikola Pekovic, Ricky Rubio and Kevin Martin, the Timberwolves are solid at best. Without those three, they're young -- and bad.
2. Kevin Love started slow against his former team, taking the game's first shot. It was a point-blank layup. He missed.
3. Later, Love injured his thumb and was sent to the locker room. He returned with a taped hand and suddenly appeared to become more aggressive. In the end, he finished with 20 points on 5-of-11 shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds. Not too shabby, especially since he wasn't even needed with about 5 minutes remaining and the Cavs coasting.
4. On the downside, when Love returned to the court, starting center Anderson Varejao went down. It looked bad, as Varejao needed help getting off the floor. He couldn't put any pressure on his left foot. Later, he was spotted leaving the locker room on crutches with a boot on his foot.
5. I occasionally (but not often) read my Twitter notifications, and I know Cavs fans are freaking out about Varejao's foot. I get it -- he's been hurt a lot the past few seasons. But right now, there is no more info. According to a statement from the Cavs, Varejao "will be evaluated further (Wednesday) with his status updated following that." Until then, everyone should stay calm.
6. And this isn't intended to sound insensitive to Varejao's injury or discredit his many contributions -- but this team probably has enough firepower to sustain its recent success. Remember, LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Love are all in Cleveland now.
7. As for Love's thumb, he said he initially jammed it during the Brooklyn game, then re-injured it when his hand got slapped Tuesday. "It scared me," he said. But X-Rays were negative and the injury does not sound serious.
8. Now that we've gotten past all the aches and pains, let's talk about the actual game. The Cavs (17-10) sort of snoozed their way to 64 points in the first half. Yes, the Cavs lollygagged, and still scored 64 in 24 minutes. But that's just how bad the Timberwolves are on defense.
9. Then came the second half, when the Cavs woke up enough to go on a 16-1 run and put this thing away for good. Coach David Blatt spoke of this by saying the Cavs "weren't locked in" during the first two quarters. Probably not a big deal against a team like the T-Wolves (5-22), though.
10. For all the talk of Love and Wiggins, it was Kyrie Irving who played a marvelous and winning brand of basketball. He was just so steady and smart, forcing nothing on his way to 29 points on 12-of-19 shooting. Playing next to LeBron and Love is clearly bringing out the best in Kyrie, and it's a please to watch.
11. Meanwhile, all LeBron did was finish with 24 points (8-of-16 shooting) and teach young Wiggins a thing or two about being overzealous on defense. Wiggins looks like he'll be a very good defender someday, but he was simply overmatched (as so many often are) against James.
12. Wiggins finished with 27 points, including a career-high 14 in the first half. As Blatt said, Wiggins clearly was pumped for this particular game. He's not usually this good -- entering Tuesday with averages of 12.5 points and 38 percent shooting. But in time, this kid could be a star.
13. Before you ask, yes, I'd still take Love over Wiggins every day of the week and twice on Sunday. The Cavs want to win now. And from the looks of things, Wiggins sure ain't leading anyone to wins. He may someday, but that's beside the point to the Cavs.
14. Still, both Blatt and LeBron offered high praise for the No.1 overall pick, who was traded to Minnesota with Anthony Bennett in August. Blatt coached both Wiggins and Bennett in summer-league play.
15. Blatt on Wiggins: "Andrew is a guy with such great potential. He played his best game of the season, without question. I'm not used to being happy for guys on the other team who play well against us, but given that we won ... I'm happy for him."
16. LeBron on Wiggins: "He's a great talent. We all knew that for sure. Very poised, very efficient. They got a good piece."
17. Dion Waiters was again strong off the bench. He actually subbed in before Shawn Marion when Mike Miller picked up a quick three fouls. Waiters finished with 19 points and tied Irving with a team-high four assists.
18. Marion (11 points, 5-of-7 shooting) has been brilliant in his three games coming off the bench.
19. And let's not forget Tristan Thompson. He only scored five, but he grabbed nine rebounds and the Cavs outscored the Wolves by 25 when he was on the floor. Thompson is doing nearly everything the team asks -- and with Varejao going down, his role may become that much more important.
20. Wiggins admitted this game was more emotional for him than usual: "Yeah. Before the game even started when we were in the locker room, it was just a different atmosphere. Emotions were a lot higher than they usually are. I think it's obvious this was a motivation game for me."
21. As for Bennett, well, The Other Former No. 1 Overall Pick just isn't progressing. He finished 0-of-4 shooting for zero points. "I wish I could've done a lot more. But with the way things rolled, Wiggins had the hot hand, so everybody fed him."
22. Is that funny to anyone else but me? It sort of sounds like Bennett is saying he had a miserable night because he wanted to defer to Wiggins. But Bennett is a good guy, and I'm sure he didn't mean it that way.
23. Eventually, this Timberwolves team is going to be good. Along with Wiggins, I was impressed with second-year center Gorgui Deing (20 points and 11 boards) and combo guard and rookie Zach Lavine (six assists). Oh, and Mo Williams returned to Cleveland to pass for a team-high seven assists off the bench.
24. That's it for me. Happy Holidays and thanks for following along. Next up for the Cavs: LeBron's return to Miami on Christmas Day.
