CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – The road weary Cavs re trying to find their stride again.
Jarrett Allen scored 19 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter and Donovan Mitchell handed out a career-high 14 assists and scored 25 to lead the Cavs past the Spurs 124-116 at Rocket Arena.
Here’s the top Wine & Gold nuggets from Thursday night.
United and unselfish – Allen, who also had 16 rebounds, was sensational in the final quarter as he continues to do whatever is asked of him on any given night. “He never misses a game, right? I don't know how he does it,” Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson said. “He just knew what we needed. He knew we needed him to punish their small ball lineup and just key to our victory tonight. Number one key to our victory was Jarett Allen.” Allen made five of six shots and pulled down eight rebounds in the final quarter to help seal the win. Allen’s unselfishness, and that of the entire team, is why Cleveland is atop the Eastern Conference. “People that want more shots, go ahead have more shots,” Allen said. “Just know at the end of the day, I'm here when you need me. If you want me to go out and shoot 11 shots like I did tonight, I can do that. If you want me to shoot five, I can do that as well.”
On the money – Mitchell’s assists stole the show as he finished just two rebounds shy of his first career triple-double. “He changed the game,” Atkinson said. Mitchell threaded the needle effortlessly on multiple passes that resulted in points. “I think I've always been able to make the cross court ones like the one I had in Utah,” Mitchell said. “I've done that a thousand times. You guys see me jump out of bounds and throw. Those are the ones that pretty really catch the eye. But the ones that I'm happy about and take me to the next level in my opinion are the drive middle, they help kick it right to the corner. A simple read just to pass ahead, just getting off the ball. That's when you become a better playmaker.” Mitchell, who entered the game 3-29 on his previous tries from 3, hit four of nine Thursday night and shot 8-18 from the field. Darius Garland had the last triple double for the Cavs on January 12, 2022, against the Jazz with 11 points, 10 rebounds and 15 assists.
Upon further review – Tristan Thompson was ejected with 9:36 remaining in the fourth quarter and the Cavs trailing 90-89 following a replay review. It was the fourth replay review the Cavs lost in the second half. “I sympathize with you guys. I sympathize with the fans,” Atkinson said. “Like the reviews and the challenges. I prefer the game flowed more and I thought we're getting that way with the NBA, where we're shortening the games and it's got to go. But every review you're sitting there for, it seems like forever. It just kills it for the crowd, kills it for the players, however they can limit those reviews and including the challenges. I'm voting. I'm voting yes, the game's got to flow better. There's too much stoppage in my opinion.” Officials deemed Thomson hit San Antonio’s Jeremy Sochan in the head with an elbow while going for a rebound and the common foul was upgraded to a flagrant 2. “The fact that it was to the head is caused a flagrant 2,” Atkinson said. “I didn't look at the replay, but you know where I am on the replay.” Thompson finished with four rebounds and a blocked shot in 8 minutes.
Sixth man – With Evan Mobley given the night of to rest, Dean Wade started in his place and De’Andre Hunter came off the bench. Wade finished with three points and three rebounds in 24:36 while Hunter has 14 points and seven rebounds.
Starting 5 – Atkinson started Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Dean Wade, Max Strus, and Jarrett Allen.
