Wiggins took possession again. Seeing Mike Miller struggling to contain him, Jay Sun patted Miller on the shoulder in encouragement.
What? You're asking why Jay didn't switch to guard Wiggins? Jay had a simple answer: I'm just a guard. Facing someone like Wiggins, a swingman with that kind of physicality, I'll pass.
This time, Wiggins pulled up for a mid-range jumper but missed. Jay grabbed the rebound and immediately sprinted toward the frontcourt.
Wiggins was hot on his heels.
Already let you dunk once. You think you're getting another? Not a chance.
Feeling the pressure behind him, Jay wisely opted not to force a shot. Instead, he passed to a trailing Mike Miller.
Miller caught it, stepped up, and knocked down the mid-range jumper.
Jay turned around to see Wiggins — and couldn't help but be surprised.
Wait, it was you chasing me?
Why's he so eager on defense? I'm not LeBron! Why the full-court chase?
Wiggins glanced at Jay without a word, took the inbound pass, and pushed it up the court.
Though Jay wasn't LeBron, both he and Wiggins were battling for the Rookie of the Year award. Wiggins had every reason to want to show out in this game.
In the next few possessions, Miller continued struggling to contain Wiggins' drives. Wiggins, meanwhile, kept his offensive intensity high.
By the end of the second quarter, the Timberwolves outscored the Cavs 28-25, extending their lead by three more points.
Jay glanced at the scoreboard and sighed. Not the fourth quarter yet, huh? No Closer mode. Still, we're hanging in there.
Halftime score: Timberwolves 58, Cavaliers 46.
The Timberwolves were looking more and more like they might pull off an upset. If that happened, the headlines would write themselves:
"Cavs Castoff Topples His Old Team — Wiggins Cuts Down LeBron!"
"New Alpha in Minnesota — Wiggins Becomes the Wolves' King!"
LeBron could already imagine a hundred variations of those headlines. And he wasn't about to let them become reality.
The third quarter started with a fiery Cavaliers run, led by LeBron himself.
On defense, LeBron locked in on Wiggins, using his physicality to completely disrupt the rookie's rhythm.
Wiggins: I just want to win the game. Why does it feel like I'm fighting for my life?
With LeBron's relentless pressure, Wiggins' offensive aggressiveness waned. But without him, the Wolves had no other reliable shot creators.
The Cavs won the third quarter 30-24, cutting the deficit to just six points. The scoreboard read 82-76 in favor of Minnesota.
As Wiggins sat down during the break between quarters, he finally exhaled in relief.
We're still up. Just hold on for one more quarter, and we can take this.
What Wiggins didn't realize was that the Cavaliers weren't a three-headed monster — they were a four-headed one.
And when the fourth quarter rolled around, Jay Sun was ready to step up on both ends of the court.
With the break over, the fourth quarter began.
On the floor for the Cavs: Kyrie, Jay, J.R., LeBron, and Love.
Tyronn Lue wasn't holding anything back. All in.
The Cavs' first possession of the quarter saw LeBron drive into the paint before kicking it out to Kyrie.
Kyrie attacked but got walled off, so he passed to Jay on the perimeter.
Jay took the ball and drove hard into the Wolves' defense. After three straight drives to the paint, Minnesota's defense was disorganized and slow to react.
Jay euro-stepped around Anthony Bennett and laid it in.
The Wolves inbounded quickly and got the ball to Wiggins, who had already scored 30 points. Most of that damage, though, had come in the first half.
Jay, on the other hand, had only 18 points entering the fourth. But that didn't matter. Everyone in the building knew Jay's reputation for clutch performances.
Wiggins tried a pull-up jumper after a quick drive but missed.
Love grabbed the rebound and, without hesitation, launched a long pass to Jay.
Jay, already sprinting ahead, caught the ball near half-court. Seeing no defenders closing in, he stopped at the three-point line and pulled up.
Swish.
The trailing three-pointer found nothing but net.
In just two minutes, Jay had scored five quick points.
The Target Center crowd fell silent. Nothing kills momentum like a pull-up three in transition.
The Wolves called timeout.
Despite holding the lead, the Timberwolves' bench looked tense. The energy on the court suggested the Cavaliers were the team ahead.
Score: 82-81. Minnesota was now clinging to a one-point lead.
After the timeout, the Wolves ran a play to get Peković a post-up opportunity.
Peković, with his massive frame, backed Love down in the post.
Love held his ground for a few bumps, but eventually, Peković created just enough space to spin and finish off the glass.
84-81. The Wolves regained a bit of breathing room.
On the next possession, LeBron called for a screen from Love.
With Love pulling Peković out of the paint, LeBron looked to attack the rim. Wiggins, fighting through the screen, stayed attached to LeBron.
Seeing an opening, LeBron launched a three instead.
It missed, clanging off the rim.
Wiggins exhaled. Close call.
The Wolves ran another set, and after some off-ball movement, Wiggins found himself matched up with Jay.
Jay noticed the shift.
Finally, huh? You've been dodging me all game.
Wiggins, remembering how Jay had avoided direct matchups earlier, smirked. Let's see what you've got.
Without any fancy moves, Wiggins exploded into a first step, trying to use his strength and speed to bulldoze past Jay.
Jay stuck to him like glue. His Clamps badge was fully activated, and he swiped at the ball whenever he saw an opening.
Wiggins struggled to make progress, slowed to a halt after two steps, and turned his back to Jay, trying to post him up.
Wiggins pushed once, twice, three times.
Suddenly, he noticed a familiar mark on the floor.
Wait… the free-throw line? I've been backing him down all this time, and I'm still this far out?
With the shot clock winding down, Wiggins spun and took a long two.
Jay leapt alongside him, waving a hand in his face to obscure his vision.
Clang.
The shot missed.
LeBron snagged the rebound and immediately took off.
In transition, LeBron sprinted down the court, took off near the rim, and hammered home a ferocious dunk.
"RAHHHH!" LeBron roared, pounding his chest in celebration, venting his frustration from recent struggles.
Score: 83-84.
The Cavs were back within one.