CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Coming off back-to-back losses to begin the post All-Star break stretch run, the Cavs responded emphatically Sunday evening.
Led by another spectacular performance from Donovan Mitchell, the Cavs rolled to a 118-93 win that saw head coach J.B. Bickerstaff empty the bench late in the fourth quarter.
Here’s a look Beyond the Box Score at win No. 39 on the season for Cleveland.
1. The Cavs entered the night 0-3 against Toronto, who beat them up with pesky physicality and aggressiveness, but not Sunday night. “The approach was outstanding,” Bickerstaff said. “Knowing your opponent understanding how physical the game was going to be and exceeding that, playing together, carrying the game, playing out to a T and doing it together. All things that our guys have done the majority of the year, but put it on full display tonight.”
2. Sunday morning Bickerstaff spoke with Donovan Mitchell about needing this one. Mitchell responded in a big way. “We needed this one,” Mitchell said. “I told JB I got him, but as a group I think we all did it. But for me, just when a coach, you know, have that talk, you know kind of have to go out there and get to it.”
3. Mitchell won’t get many MVP votes, but he probably should considering the impact he’s had after being traded to the Cavs this summer. “He gives us a guy who can take over at games,” Bickerstaff said. “He's a guy who shines in the brightest. You know, think about, and we've talked about it before, but how many guys numbers go up in the playoffs, right? That's extremely difficult to do when defenses are focused on slowing you down and stopping you. But most importantly is he's a part of the team and I can't speak enough on that and how valuable that is from a guy who has the ability that he has his decision to never separate himself and just be a part of it. That's the most important thing.”
4. Mitchell scored 35 points in 31 minutes. He also had six rebounds and four assists.
5. Mitchell and Darius Garland were hot from beyond the arc early combining to make their first seven attempts, setting the tone for the blowout to come. “Obviously the three ball was falling tonight for the both of us, but just trying to set that tone, be aggressive just be the head of the snakes,” Mitchell said. “We got these two down there, [Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley] holding the paint down, setting that tone and getting the paint creating, and then when we get doubled or whatnot, finding them in the pocket, finding 'em on drop offs. Darius did a hell of a job with that to start the game and I just tried to find my way throughout the game…So trying to set that tone and just be aggressive. And this guy [Allen] got me open a bunch of times and I made some shots.” When the dust settled, Mitchell made eight of 12 while Garland hit three of four.
6. Mitchell is quickly moving up the Cavs single season franchise record for triples with eight makes Sunday night giving him 194 on the season to date. He trails only J.R. Smith, who holds the single season record set during the 2015-16 NBA championship campaign with 204 makes from three.
7. Bickerstaff’s decision to challenge an offensive foul called on Mitchell in the third quarter backfired. “I don't want to throw anybody under the bus, my challenge guy, it's a judgment call on their part,” Bickerstaff said. “I don't know how you shoot a layup without lifting your leg up, what the intent was. But again, I thought Donovan went to go shoot a layup that you're taught in the third grade how to shoot a layup.” After review, the foul was upgraded to a flagrant-1 because he lifted his knee which inadvertently landed below the belt. Mitchell responded by scoring 10 of his 13 points in the third quarter after the review which allowed the Cavs to pull away.
8. Garland finished with 18 points and 11 assists for his 16th double-double this season.
9. The Cavs did a great job sharing the ball in the first half where they had 17 assists on 24 field goals. Off the 44 shots made, Cleveland had an assist on 30 of them.
10. We’re nitpicking here but Evan Mobley shooting threes probably isn’t the greatest plan for shot selection, but it is part of developing his game. “If they have to come up close to me I'm just going to use my speed and agility to go by and if they don't come up then knock down the three,” Mobley said. “So tonight I was just trying to shoot the open ones and they kept giving me a three and knock few of 'em down and I'm going to keep doing that.” Mobley tried six of them from deep Sunday, making two. “We just want Evan to play basketball and if you know they're going to leave him open, shoot them with confidence,” Bickerstaff said. “He puts in a ton of time working on it and I do believe the better he gets there, the more that opens up the floor for everybody. So teams having to worry about him in that spot spaces the floor. People have to be aggressive and you don't just start taking those in the bigger games. You got to take 'em to build that habit.”
11. Mobley and Jarrett Allen dominated inside. Sure, Pascal Siakam finished with 25 points, eight rebounds and four assists for Toronto, but Allen had 23 points and 11 rebounds while Mobley finished with 18 points and nine boards.
12. Too bad Kevin Love left for Miami. Bickerstaff got to empty the bench with less than five minutes remaining. We kid.
13. Danny Green received a nice ovation when he checked in with 5:43 remaining and the Cavs well on their way to victory. It was Green’s first time in Cavs wine and gold since the 2009-10 season.
14. At one point early in the fourth quarter Toronto’s bench was outscoring Cleveland’s 20-2. Final tally: 29-16.
15. Toronto wasn’t happy with the officiating early. Head coach Nick Nurse and Scottie Barnes both drew T’s in the first quarter. As it turned out, the officiating was the least of their problems.
16. For whatever reason, it seems when the Cavs win, the games aren’t close. “I think that just says when we come ready to play or going to bring it and if they're not ready, we're going to I guess win by 10 or more,” Allen said. “We're ready for almost every game we play and we're going to keep going at people.” Sunday’s win was the fifth of the season by at least 25 and they’ve now won an NBA-best 27 games by 10 or more points.