CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – The Cleveland Cavaliers are still the only undefeated team in the NBA following a dominant 136-117 win against the Warriors.
The Cavs improved to 10-0 on the season, adding a win to their best start in franchise history. They’re the fourth team since 2000 to start a season 10-0, and the only team ever to do so with 110-plus points in each game.
“10-0 is something,” head coach Kenny Atkinson said. “It’s kind of a magic number. I was worried about tonight, you know, they were 7-1 and they’re rolling. The way we came out tonight, that surprised me how ready we were, how hungry we were.”
Cleveland has already scored 130-plus points in five games this season, tying the franchise record for 130-plus point games in a single season, and this one was all but over after the first 24 minutes of the game.
Historic first half – Before Friday’s game, Atkinson said that the game would be decided by who played the better defense.
The Warriors came in with the NBA’s second-ranked defense, but it looked like they left that defense in San Francisco as the Cavs scored 83 points in the first half.
Cleveland held an 83-42 lead at halftime, tying the franchise record for points in a half. The 41-point lead is the biggest halftime lead in team history, and it’s tied for the eighth-largest halftime lead by any NBA team in the shot clock era (1954-55).
“It was amazing everyone was just knocking down everything,” Evan Mobley said. “We were getting stops and just flowing in transition. It was just amazing basketball.”
The Cavs made 14 threes in the half, the most in a single half since November 13th, 2017. Their 14-made threes are also tied for the second most in a half in franchise history.
“I get mad when we miss threes now,” Atkinson joked. “We have a lot of good shooters on the roster.”
The Cavs scored 18 unanswered points in the first quarter, jumping to a 20-2 lead. A key to the team’s 10-0 start to the season has been their efficiency on offense. The wine and gold entered Friday’s game with the best field goal percentage in the NBA at 52.6%.
Okoro in the starting five – Isaac Okoro was featured in the starting lineup for Dean Wade in the third straight game. Wade played 18 minutes off the bench after missing two games due to an illness.
Okoro scored a season-high 16 points with four made threes in 27 minutes.
“You could argue that sparked everything,” Atkinson said. “That was a big boost for us. His shooting is really important for our spacing.”
Jerome show – Ty Jerome went nuclear in the second quarter with 13 points. He converted on all five shots he took, including three baskets from three-point range in a four-possession span.
“He has a really high basketball IQ,” Caris LeVert said. “He has a great feel for the game, so he kind of knows what the game needs.”
The six-year NBA vet finished with a season-high 20 points against his former squad.
“I try to take what the defense gives me every game,” Jerome said. “I didn’t really step out of my comfort zone or do anything I haven’t been doing. The ball found me a little more today in that first half.”
Familiar foes – A raucous crowd was at its loudest on Friday when Steph Curry, and especially Draymond Green’s name were mentioned in the arena.
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Curry scored 12 points and turned the ball over six times. The Akron native was subbed out for the rest of the game with 4:02 left in the third quarter.
Green’s first-quarter performance was enough to get the crowd involved right away. The four-time All-Star missed two corner threes and committed two fouls in the first quarter. He finished with 6 points on 2-7 shooting with four personal fouls.
Climbing the ranks – With six assists, Darius Garland passed Kyrie Irving and Foots Walker for fifth place on Cleveland’s all-time assists list.
“I think he should be an All-Star starter the way he’s playing right now,” Jerome said. “The craziest thing is he’s letting the game come to him. He’s not forcing anything.”
In his sixth season with the Cavs, Garland has recorded 2,119 assists. The former All-Star is also three three-pointers away from passing Irving for the fourth most threes made in franchise history.
Student becomes the master – The win was the team’s 10th in the Kenny Atkinson era, but this one against the Warriors likely meant more to the Cavs head coach.
Atkinson was an assistant coach with the Warriors from 2021-2024. He experienced winning an NBA championship with Steve Kerr in 2022, and credits Kerr for his growth.
“Besides being a mentor and a colleague, he’s a good friend,” Atkinson said. “It really shaped me being around such a great head coach, great leader, and great communicator.”
While Atkinson has a long way to go to catch up to Kerr’s four NBA championships as a head coach, it did mark his first regular-season win over his mentor.
“My high school coach used to say there are no friends in competition,” Atkinson said. “Steve knows that better than anybody.”
Up next – Another significant game for Kenny Atkinson comes on Saturday as the Cavs welcome the Brooklyn Nets into town. Atkinson’s first stint as a head coach started in 2016 with the Nets. Saturday’s game is the first meeting between the Cavs and Nets this season.