Isaac Okoro is a rarity.

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ swingman can impact games without scoring. His defense sets him apart on the Cavaliers, who snapped a three-game losing streak Saturday with a 92-86 victory over the Washington Wizards.

Cleveland will put its eight-game home winning streak on the line against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night.

The Cavaliers tried the whole game Saturday to put the defensive clamps on Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma, who led all scorers with 34 points and added 13 rebounds and two blocks.

It wasn’t until Cleveland coach J.B. Bickerstaff shifted Okoro onto Kuzma late in the fourth quarter that the Cavaliers were able to slow him. Still, Kuzma made 13 of 22 shots from the field, including 8 of 11 from 3-point range.

“I thought Isaac was phenomenal on Kuzma down the stretch,” Bickerstaff said.

A Kuzma basket was the Wizards’ only points in the last 5:49. Okoro fueled the Cavaliers’ defensive surge in the fourth quarter against Washington. On offense, he finished with six points and is averaging 8.9 for the season.

“He can score zero points and be the most impactful player on the floor,” Bickerstaff said. “We put him in some extremely difficult situations. Not once has he flinched. We’re lucky to have him.”

Okoro also ended with four rebounds, three assists and two steals. He’ll have a big task against the high-scoring Timberwolves, who average 113.1 points a game.

Their two top perimeter threats — point guard D’Angelo Russell (19.3 ppg, 7.0 assists) and swingman Anthony Edwards (21.4 ppg) — are formidable. Russell scored 37 points in a win over Memphis last week.

The Cavaliers’ game will be the first of a back-to-back set for Minnesota, which will host Golden State on Tuesday. The Timberwolves were throttled by Philadelphia in their most recent game, 133-102 on Friday.

Wolves center Karl-Anthony Towns is averaging 24.4 points, 9.7 rebounds and 3.9 assists a game.

Towns will face off against the Cavaliers’ Jarrett Allen in a battle of All-Star centers. Allen is averaging 16.1 points and 11.0 rebounds and is shooting 66.7 percent from the field.

“I think we got to try to get the ball to KAT a little bit more,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch told the St. Paul Pioneer-Press. “We got to feature him, I think, more throughout the game. He’s had such a great season and been so good at picking his moments to step up and just fitting in with everybody, and that’s been important. We also have to make sure we don’t underutilize a guy with that type of talent.”

The Cavaliers hope to ride the hot hand of forward Lauri Markkanen on Monday. He had 23 points and six rebounds against Washington and was 6 of 9 from 3-point range. He scored 22 points in a loss to Detroit on Thursday.

“Some people have underestimated Lauri,” Bickerstaff said. “He’s a hell of an offensive weapon. We have to find other ways to use him.”

–Field Level Media