CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – The Cavaliers got a key piece back on the floor quicker than expected and beat one of the NBA’s best Monday night.
Evan Mobley returned after missing six weeks, Donovan Mitchell led seven in double figures, Jarrett Allen notched another double-double and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Los Angeles Clippers 118-108 at Rocket Mortgage FiledHouse.
Here’s our top Wine & Gold Nuggets from Monday night.
Mobley’s back – Mobley, sidelined since suffering a left knee injury December 6 against Orlando, made his return after undergoing arthroscopic surgery December 18. “He was, shoot, close to a double-double in limited minutes,” Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “Obviously a little bit of rust when you're playing full speed attacking and those types of things, had some turnovers that he typically doesn't make. But I mean, again, I thought he did a really good job defensively. Offensively, he found his spots, and again, it's going to take some time for him to catch that rhythm and the one-on-one stuff... I thought he was great.” Mobley finished with 10 points and nine rebounds in just under 21 minutes as Bickerstaff aimed to keep him below 24 minutes in floor time. The forward’s first points came on a coast-to-coast dunk. “In the beginning, didn't feel too rusty,” Mobley said. “I felt like got a few travel calls but that's just going to happen and got into the flow of the game as I kept playing, just felt better out there. I felt more comfortable and yeah, I didn't feel too rusty and then that dunk. Yeah, I feel like that got me going and felt good that that was my first points back.” Mobley replaced Dean Wade, who played 25:31 and had six points and four rebounds off the bench, in the starting five. “You got one of the top rim defenders in the NBA and what he does on the offense, it is special,” Wade said. “He's so athletic, and I know this is his first game back, but he's going to get more comfortable. He's going to be an animal again. But it was awesome to get him back.” The former No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft out of USC was averaging 16.0 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.7 blocks in 21 games prior to the injury. Cleveland went 14-4 without Mobley and Darius Garland, who suffered a broken jaw December 15 at Boston but is expected back possibly by Wednesday, in the lineup.
All defense – Isaac Okoro scored all 17 of his points in the first half in what could be his final start with Garland close to returning. But it was his defense once again that shined against one of the hottest offensive teams in the NBA in the Clippers. “They have a lot of scores on the team, so you can't just deny one person,” Okoro said of helping to limit Paul George and James Harden to 19 field goal attempts and a combined 24 points. “So with them when they have that many people, you really can't deny the ball. But for a different team, just getting their hot player off the ball, it's easier for us.” Okoro isn’t known for putting up big offensive numbers, but Donovan Mitchell, who scored 28 in the win, is doing his part to make sure Okoro gets his just due. “We know he's going to dominate his matchup every night, I think, and that's something that doesn't really, it's not spoken about, which it kind of pisses me off that it's not spoken about just because he's a guy that that's what he does and he deserves a lot more credit,” Mitchell said. “We give credit to the two bigs as we should. They are phenomenal what they do, but I think a guy like Isaac Okoro, we pay attention to…but we pay attention to, oh, maybe he can't shoot. Maybe he can't knock down a shot, but we forget what he's really good at and he is elite at.” Okoro hit a corner 3 with just over a second left in the first half to give the Cavs a 56-52 lead at halftime. Bickerstaff agreed with Mitchell about Okoro’s defense. “I'm obviously biased, but I think he's the best on ball defender and point of attack defender in this league,” Bickerstaff said. “I don't know anybody else who can guard the types of people that Isaac can guard anybody who defeats screens the way that Isaac defeats screens and keeps people in front of him the way that he does. He's one of a handful of people at most who doesn't need help on screens.”
Mitchell dishes – Mitchell set a career high with his sixth double-double of the season – 28 points and 12 assists – in what likely will be his last as the starting point guard, a role he will be happy to relinquish. “It's taught me and shown me a lot of things that I've seen on film that I think I've allowed to implement in my game.,” Mitchell said. “And I think just from a fatigue standpoint, I think when I say tough, that's probably the toughest part is just getting used to that. But I've been doing it for a while, so I think I'm pretty used to it now.” It was Mitchell’s 32nd game of the season with over 20 points and the guard has averaged 8.4 assists over his last nine games since January 4. “He's a complete basketball player and it's simple as that,” Bickerstaff said. “He's not a one-dimensional guy, but obviously when Darius comes back, Darius is going to have the ball in his hands as well. So guys just have to continue to play the right way and keep sharing the ball and we keep sharing the ball. There's enough touches out there for everybody, so you move it, pass it to the open man. I think that's what Donovan has done a phenomenal job of, is helping his teammates get better, and I think those two guys can make each other better. They take pressure off one another and can create some easier opportunities for one another as well.”
Mr. Double-double – Jarrett Allen notched yet another double-double, his 20th of the season and his 15th consecutive, a career-high and franchise record.“What he's doing right now is special man. It really is,” Wade said. “Send J.A. to Indy, that's all I'll say. Send J.A. to Indy. He's an All-Star, but the way he's been playing, I mean he really has been playing All-Star level and we've needed it. And that's why I'd say he's probably the main reason we've been on that run… I mean, he's been an absolute animal and we've needed it stepped up in a big way and we're just kind of riding his wave right now.” Allen scored 20 points and puled down 17 rebounds marking the 11th time he scored at least 20 and he is four games shy of tying the franchise record for most consecutive games with at least 10 rebounds.
Buzzer beater – Caris LeVert beat the third quarter buzzer with a 3 that gave the Cavs an 88-81 lead. LeVert finished with 13 points off the bench.
Milestone win – Monday night’s victory was the 150th of Bickerstaff’s tenure as head coach, the fifth-most wins in franchise history. “I love to win games, but again, this has been a long journey here from when I first took over to where we are now,” Bickerstaff said. “It says a lot about the wonderful people that I get an opportunity to work with every single day. The partnership that I have with Kobe [Altman] and the front office, the support of the Gilberts. And at the end of the day what it comes down to, the wins come because of the people in this building, and we've continued to put unbelievable high character people with immense talent in this building, and that's where the wins come from.”
Starting 5 – Bickerstaff went with Mobley, Isaac Okoro, Jarrett Allen, Donovan Mitchell and Max Strus to start against the Clippers.
