The Cleveland Cavaliers broke out of their January doldrums in a big way on Wednesday, crushing the Minnesota Timberwolves 125-97 with the help of 27 points from superstar LeBron James.

James added 12 assists and teammate Kyrie Irving handed out a career-high 14 assists to go with 14 points as the reigning NBA champions notched a convincing victory after going 7-8 last month.

"After having a bad month like that, pride kicks in at some point," Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue said in a brief in-game television interview.