Cavaliers Get "Lucky" In 7th Straight Win
It wasn’t pretty, but in todays NBA you’ll take a win any way that you get one.
The Cavaliers escaped with a 117-109 win over the San Antonio Spurs in a game that should’ve never even been that close.Cleveland led by as many as 21 points and as little as four at one point in the fourth quarter.
Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff is usually pretty talkative with the media, even after a loss. Monday night he was short and sweet, both in the brevity of his post-game remarks and the time that it took him to deliver them.
He spoke for just two minutes and 38 seconds. Bickerstaff was relieved to get a win, sure. But for a few brief moments his team left the door open for the Spurs to come out victorious for the first time in 13 tries.
"We didn't play to our standard, it's that simple," Bickerstaff said. "We didn't do the things that we needed to do at the level we're used to doing them at."
You know, those Cavalier staples like sharing the basketball, cleaning up on the glass, dominating the paint and playing stingy defense.
Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen were cooking early, with eight and nine points, respectively in the opening quarter. Allen finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds while Mobley added 15 points and ten boards.
Allen said once Mitchell got going, they deferred to their All-Star guard.
"We (Mobley and Jarrett) were selfless enough to take a step back and let Donovan do his thing. And he did excellent," Allen said. "I do think we backed off the pedal a little bit, Evan and I. But we still got the job done, 15 and 17, so we still found our spaces to be effective, but we let other people take the take."
Mitchell indeed began heating up, scoring 41 points. It was the sixth time he's scored 40 or more this season.
The Cavs have now won seven straight, their second-longest winning streak since they rattled off eight straight at the beginning of the season.
Five thoughts/Observations from the Cavs
- The Cavs were outgunned in the assist category.
For the second time in as many games, the Cavaliers didn’t have the edge in assists over their opponent. In the grand scheme of things, it’s not the end of the world, but the Cavs have placed an emphasis on sharing the basketball and that’s helped carry them throughout this current seven-game winning streak.
The Cavs dished out 30 or more assists in three wins along the way, but San Antonio handed out 27 assists on 43 made baskets.
- Donovan Mitchell’s crossover is absolutely deadly.
It claimed another victim Monday night when Mitchell obliterated Jeremy Sochan’s ankles. Mitchell said it’s one of his favorite tools in his repertoire but couldn’t quite remember a time when he sent someone to the deck like Sochan.
“I've had a few like that. I just don’t remember the last time, it's been a while,” Mitchell said. “I've had one against Nerlens (Noel) I’ve had one against the Clippers a few years back. That's kind of like my go to in those situations, but it's been a while.”
Have a look for yourself below.
The chef’s kiss is the burying of the triple to complete the highlight.
- More on Mitchell…
Whatever groin issue was bothering Mitchell appears to have been resolved with a little rest. For a few games in early February, the Cavs’ All-Star guard didn’t quite look himself. But after sitting out in a win over the Pistons it gave Mitchell the chance to sit.
He clearly benefitted from the three-days off.
“I think understanding that the groin has been an issue for a little bit and understanding that sometimes you’ve got to take a day and take a game and kind of find ways to rest,” Mitchell said. “The great part is I have the support of the everybody on the team and everybody organization to take a day and kind of get myself, back to where I feel like I'm capable of being the leader that I am.”
- Darius Garland was issued a technical foul.
It came during a basket early in the fourth quarter when Garland took exception to not receiving a call after he was hacked in the lane. In brutal honesty, Garland hasn’t gotten the benefit of any calls this season and it appears his frustration boiled over momentarily.
It was just his third tech of the season, so it’s not like this is a regular occurrence. It’s understandable Garland has grown frustrated with the officials after he’s been smacked in the face umpteen times this season.
It wasn’t the best night overall for the officials. Ricky Rubio took a violent bump from Blake Wesley that probably should’ve been ruled a transition take foul.
- Dylan Windler was active…
For the second-straight game, Dylan Windler was active but didn’t see any game action.
Windler has been dealing with an ongoing ankle injury, suffered in a practice before the first preseason game where he landed awkwardly on a teammate’s foot. He was ruled out to start the season and then in November it was revealed he would miss another six weeks after receiving an injection in the ankle.
The No. 26 pick in the 2019 draft missed his entire rookie year with a leg stress fracture that required surgery. The following season, he fractured his hand just nine minutes into his debut.
He was finally healthy for the first time this offseason and was even lumped into the mix for the starting small forward position, but the preseason ankle injury derailed all of that. He didn’t see the floor again against the Spurs, but perhaps that’s the next step.
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