Minneapolis ? Kevin Garnett glared at Drew Gooden after swatting away his layup attempt in the third quarter, then stalked the lane as if to say: “Try again, I dare you.”

Thanks in large part to new coach Kevin McHale, the Minnesota Timberwolves have their swagger back.

Wally Szczerbiak scored 26 points off the bench, and Garnett added 20 points, 18 rebounds and six assists to lead the Timberwolves to a 94-88 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday night.

“We are playing with a lot more confidence,” Szczerbiak said. “There’s no question about that.”

Led by Szczerbiak, the Timberwolves’ bench players outscored Cleveland’s backups 55-6, which was enough to hold off Cleveland’s All-Star tandem of LeBron James and Zydrunas Ilgauskas and give McHale his second straight win.

James had 26 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, but was helped to the locker room early in the fourth quarter while battling exhaustion from being ill.

After getting fluids in the locker room, James returned to the court with just over four minutes to play and had to drop to his knees in the huddle during a timeout.

James did not address the media after the game, and a Cavs spokesman said he was being treated for the flu.

“We didn’t know what was wrong with him,” Ilgauskas said. “So we were concerned at first. When he came back, it was a relief.”

Cleveland's Drew Gooden, left, and Minnesota's Ervin Johnson battle for a rebound. The Timberwolves defeated the Cavaliers, 94-88, Thursday in Minneapolis.

Jeff McInnis did his best to fill in, hitting two big jumpers off drives to the basket that gave Cleveland an 81-79 lead with 4:30 to play.

The Timberwolves responded with an 11-2 run. Garnett hit a layup and jumper, Szczerbiak added a jumper of his own and Garnett was able to slither in for an offensive rebound off a missed free throw from Eddie Griffin that led to a 90-83 advantage with 1:27 to play.

James scored six more points after returning to the court, but Griffin sealed the win when he took a no-look pass from Garnett and made a reverse layup with 23 seconds to go.

“I bobbled the ball a little bit,” Garnett said. “I just looked down and saw his Nikes and I flicked it to him.”

Garnett was the only Wolves starter in double figures, but he had plenty of help.

Fred Hoiberg added 13 points and fellow reserve Griffin finished with nine points, 10 rebounds and four blocks to lead the balanced effort.

“Our bench just killed them,” Szczerbiak said.

Ilgauskas had 24 points, nine rebounds and two blocks, McInnis had 17 points and seven assists, and Gooden added 12 points and 10 boards for Cleveland.

“Really good teams that go deep in the playoffs win games like that and we haven’t,” Ilgauskas said.

In McHale’s three games as coach, the Timberwolves are 2-1 and have started to display the hustle, determination and teamwork that were so integral to their run to the Western Conference finals last season.

“They’re playing a lot different,” McInnis said. “They are taking on McHale’s personality and playing a lot harder.”

Mavericks 119, Suns 113

Phoenix — Michael Finley matched his season high with 33 points, and Josh Howard had a career-high 30, helping Dallas rally from a 10-point halftime deficit for a victory over Phoenix.

The loss dropped the Suns to 41-13 and denied them an opportunity to finish with the best record in the NBA before the All-Star break. Instead, that honor goes to the idle San Antonio Spurs (41-12).

Dallas (35-16) completed a perfect four-game trip with the victory. The Mavericks beat three of the league’s elite — Phoenix, Sacramento and Seattle, in addition to Golden State — on the swing through the West.

Finley, recently challenged by coach Don Nelson to step up his production, scored 25 points in the second half.