CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – The Cleveland Cavaliers aren’t a team that is into or believes in sending messages.
They sent one Friday night.
Darius Garland scored 34, Jarrett Allen added 33 points and 18 rebounds to lead the Cavs past the Minnesota Timberwolves at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
Here’s our top Wine & Gold Nuggets from Friday night.
Message delivered – Say what you want about the Cavs, and the critics have plenty to say, they continue to show their resiliency and depth. In the span of four days, they took down the No. 1 team in the East – the Boston Celtics and the Western Conference leading Timberwolves. “It just shows who we are and what we're capable of,” Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “It's a testament to the guys that are in that locker room, their character, their spirit, their connectedness, the way they love to compete together, the way they refuse to just let each other down. It's a special group in that locker room.” Tuesday night the Cavs trailed the Celtics by 22 with nine minutes to play in the fourth quarter to win by one. Friday night, they outslugged Minnesota in OT despite not having All-Star Donovan Mitchell, big man Evan Mobley or Max Struss. “I think we're in a good position right now and we don't even have 60% of our starters out there,” Garland said. “So I mean we have a lot more ways to go and I think when we get all those guys out there, we'd be really tough to beat.” The Cavs haven’t just gotten fat on the dregs of the NBA, they’re beating the best the league has to offer too as they improved to 41-22, so take Cleveland lightly at your own peril. “Not only that we're a team to be worried about, but that we have guys who are ready to play at any single moment,” Allen said. At some point the Cavs hope to gain respect, but they aren’t holding their breath waiting for it. “We've been a pretty good team all year,” guard Caris LeVert, who scored 15 off the bench, said. “I think people kind of downplay us for whatever reason. So, I mean, at this point we are not looking to send any message. We're just trying to get better as a team each and every game. No matter who we play against, we want to give our best. Obviously we know that playing against the Celtics, playing against Minnesota, those are great teams, top of the conference type of teams, and as we get ready for the playoffs, we look to take advantage of those matchups and play our best and put our best foot forward because we know it's playoff basketball.”
In Garland’s hands – Garland put up 26 shots Friday night, making 13 of them. The shot volume is something Bickerstaff was looking for. “Because defenses have to gravitate to him and typically it's not one guy who can stay in front of him and he's an elite passer,” Bickerstaff said. “So now once you decide to put two guys on him, he's capable of making the next play. And again, I think you saw tonight was a clear example of that and also the different ways that he can make shots. Obviously he took 10 threes tonight, but he made shots at all levels. He got to the rim, he made his little floaters, those types of things. So defenses are always guessing. They can't anticipate what he's going to do.” Garland handed out eight assists and had four rebounds. “He runs the offense,” Allen said. “He's a primary ball handler, primary scorer. We have the ball in his hand a lot. So if he's going out there and he's being confident shooting his shot and shooting good shots at that, we're going to follow behind him and that gets the whole team going.” It wasn’t a perfect night. There were six turnovers, which the Cavs are happy to live with. Garland was unable to win it late in regulation when his three-point try was rejected by Naz Reid to force a 24-secnd shot clock violation.
Allen’s field house – Allen’s dominance inside was undeniable – 13 of his 18 rebounds came on the defensive end. He shot 21 free throws and 20 of his 33 points came in the fourth quarter and overtime. “He's just been consistently dominant,” Bickerstaff said. “We've been saying this since before the All-Star break where we thought he was deserving to be an All-Star because I can't tell you bigs that are playing better than Jarrett Allen. He's just been phenomenal and it's a testament to him as a human being, as a basketball player to just want to do more to help the team win, and that's who JA is.” The 33 points were a career high as he notched his 31st double-double of the season. “Coming up in this league, I feel like I wasn't as dependable,” Allen said. “I feel like I'd go out, have a double, double one game next game. I have five and four. And for me, it was something that I wanted to expand on, something that I wanted to improve on and be more reliable, whether it's a double, double every single night or just being consistent on the defensive end. So for me, I would just say it was a growth that I wanted to improve on since my rookie year.”
Dominant D – Isaac Okoro only scored nine points and had six rebounds for the Cavs but he kept plenty of points off the scoreboard on the defensive end once again. “He's the best perimeter defender in the league, hands down,” Bickerstaff said. “And he doesn't get enough credit for it because it's defense and people don't think it's sexy. But there is no one in the league that can do the things Isaac Okoro can do on the defensive end of the floor. There is no other player in the NBA who can keep his man in front of him and force people into tough shots the way that Isaac Okoro can. There is no other player in the NBA who can get through screens and get back in front of his man so that we don't have to help. And he can play one-on-one defense the way that Isaac Okoro can.” Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, who was questionable with an ankle injury, started for Minnesota but was held to just six points in the second half and overtime. Okoro had a lot to do with that. “It takes a lot of stress off of us and that's what he's been doing since he came in the league,” Allen said. “Isaac, he's excellent at being Isaac. I don’t know how to describe it, but he's been doing great, so it just takes a lot of stress off of us.”
Hit the showers – Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert fouled out with 27.8 remaining in the fourth quarter. Gobert was then charged with a technical foul after making a money gesture with his hands towards official Scott Foster that was caught by another official, who quickly T’d him up. Garland made the free throw to tie the game at 97. Gobert finished with seven points and 17 rebounds.
Caching sub – Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch sat out the game due to an illness and assistant Micah Nori filled in.
Injury updates – Guard Donovan Mitchell missed his third game Friday night and he will be evaluated on Saturday. “He's doing well,” Bickerstaff said before the game. “I mean, he's progressed. He's doing stuff on the floor. Again, it just becomes the next workout and the next workout and how he feels and then continuing to ramp up from there.” While that might sound like positive news, it doesn’t sound like Max Strus will be back anytime soon. “It's more a wear and tear thing, and it's just a matter of when it calms down,” Bickerstaff said. “I can't tell you a grade of seriousness. Obviously for Max not to play, he's in pain and discomfort, but it's just a matter of giving it some time to rest and hopefully it calms down.”
Starting 5 – Bickerstaff went with Darius Garland, Isaac Okoro, Georges Niang, Dean Wade and Jarrett Allen Friday night.
