Two nights after Donovan Mitchell managed 71 points in a single game, the Cleveland Cavaliers looked like they would struggle to manage that scoring total as a team.
But they did manage to win.
The beginning of Wednesday night’s 90-88 Cavs victory over the Phoenix Suns saw both squads struggle to put up points on the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse parquet. For a pair of teams that both rank among the top twelve in the league in offensive rating, the score was 43-33 Suns at halftime, and 64-59 Phoenix after three quarters. The dry run especially hit Cleveland, who missed their first 14 3-point shot attempts.
Then, like with many other games this season, the Cavs heralded some home-court magic to pull out a late victory, outscoring the Suns, 31-24, in the final period.
“Even though our offense was obviously struggling, we didn’t give in to that, and we gave ourselves a chance because we continued to compete on the defensive end of the floor,” Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff stated in Wednesday’s postgame presser. “Offense is not always going to be where we would like it to be. Shots aren’t always going to fall, but can you make it close enough at the end of your game, because of your defense, that a possession matters? And one shot matters? We know we have guys that are capable of making shots down the stretch.”
Part of that late-game magic was the offensive performance of Caris LeVert, who scored 12 of his Cavs-high 21 points in the fourth while sinking all four of his field goal attempts – three of which were beyond the arc.
“That’s why we made the initial deal to get Caris here,” said Bickerstaff after the game. “The more important that games are and the longer your season is, you need guys who can play one-on-one basketball, create their own, and get it going. Caris has the ability to do that, and in ugly games like tonight, you’re going to need guys who can just beat their man.”
Another major catalyst for the Cavs, even before LeVert got things going, was guard Raul Neto. Neto, who had only scored in double digits once this season before Wednesday night, added 14 points off the bench and made a handful of key plays to keep Cleveland afloat during the third quarter.
“I’ve been in this league for eight years. I’ve been at every position you can imagine. Starting and backup point guard, Third, fourth point guard, and you’ve got to find times where you need to work on your game, your body…It’s hard, but if I want to stay in this league, I need to be ready for those moments, and find ways to stay ready, no matter what my position on the team is. ”
Neto scored eight of his points during that third period and became a surprising offensive source for a Cavs team that was offensively challenged for most of the game.
Among the Cavs who experienced an offensive spell was Evan Mobley, who only totaled six points on a 2-of-9 shooting outing for the contest. However, his last two points were the deciding ones, as his mid-range jumper with four seconds remaining put Cleveland up for good. Mobley, who received the pre-shot assist from Donovan Mitchell (20 points, nine assists), was praised by his head coach following the contest.
“Donovan did a great job of delivering the ball, and Evan hit the clutch one,” Bickerstaff detailed.
When asked if Mobley’s basket may help the league sophomore continue his offensive success, Bickerstaff added: “Check his track record. He’s hit big shots in the fourth quarter for us since he’s got here. He’s got the ‘winning gene’ and that’s why he’s impacted winning from day one. Tonight, was a tough one – [the] first game back against a really good defensive team. It made it tough on us, but to have the courage to take that shot and the ability to knock it down was huge.”
