Rinse, Repeat: Cavaliers Roll To Road Win Over Wizards
The Cleveland Cavaliers opened up a double-digit lead and cruised to a double-digit win on the road.
Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
The Cavs used a similar recipe that was equally as effective less than 24 hours earlier as they rolled the Indiana Pacers. Monday night the Wizards were the victim, a 114-91 drubbing on the second half of a back-to-back.
The Cavs were in control from wire to wire and led by as many as 28 points. The Wine and Gold have won each of their last 3 games by at least 15 points and now boast an NBA-best 24 wins by double-digits
Jarrett Allen and Darius Garland each scored 23 points apiece. Caris LeVert dumped in 21 points off the bench in his return to action after missing two games with hamstring soreness.
Six different Cavaliers reached double-figures and ten different players at least recorded a point.
Since it was the second night of a back-to-back, we’ll keep the intros short and get right into it.
Five thoughts from the Cavaliers 114-91 win over the Washington Wizards
The Cavs set the tone from the tip with their defense.
Cleveland had three steals and forced six turnovers in the first quarter and effectively sucked the energy out of the Wizards and the entire building from the jump.
The Cavs held Washington to 91 points tonight, the 17th time they’ve held an opponent under 100 points this season. They are 16-1 in those games.
Sunday night against the Pacers, the Cavaliers wanted to focus on closing out three-point shots. Washington went 1-for-7 from deep after the first 12 minutes and made just six triples (6-for-28) the entire game.
Okoro oozing confidence
Isaac Okoro is playing with newfound confidence recently and it's showing. Could he finally be developing into the small forward we've been hoping for?
Okoro reached double figures for the third-straight game with 12 points, one night after starting out a perfect 7-for-7 from the field in Indiana.
Over the course of the season’s first 37 games, Okoro made just 17 triples as he struggled to develop any rhythm shooting the ball and was in and out of the starting lineup. Since January, Okoro has been shooting 52-percent from three-point range, a 19-game stretch.
Monday night marked three-straight games in double-figures for Okoro, the longest streak of games in double-digits since a four-game span last season. Okoro reached double-figures in six-straight games twice during his rookie season.
Okoro made a jab-step and knocked down a deep three in the second quarter to put the Cavs up 20 points. That is a move that Okoro wouldn’t and, quite frankly, couldn’t make in the past. It helps when you’re shooting the ball as well as Okoro has been recently.
Feed your local big man
Jarrett Allen was dominant in the first half with 16 points on 8-of-9 shooting. He helped control the pace at both ends of the floor and finished the night with 23 points and eight rebounds while going 10-of-13 from the floor.
His partner in crime in the pain, Evan Mobley, was equally as effective pouring in 16 points, five rebounds and two blocked shots. Mobley made several scintillating plays, showcasing his athleticism. Washington had no answer for the Cavs’ big men.
Hidden Figures
One night after all five Cavs’ starters scored 17 or more points, the starting five were once again in double digits by halftime against the Wizards.
According to Elias Sports, Monday night marked the first time since 1997-98 that all five Cavs starters scored 10-plus points in the first half of a game. Two other NBA teams, Charlotte on October 31, 2022 and Atlanta on January 25th accomplished it this year.
Streak Snapped
The Cavs missed the 30-assist plateau for the fifth-straight game. It’s only happened twice in franchise history, once in 1972 and the other in 1993 but it doesn’t take away from how well the team has been clicking on the offensive end.
The Cavs still dished out 25 assists, not too shabby.
BONUS: Tip-ins
Ricky Rubio didn’t play as the plan for him is to not play in back-to-backs as he continues to ease back into game action. Rubio has come on strong and had a team-high nine assists Sunday evening.
He’ll need plenty of rest as the Cavs are in the midst of a busy stretch, five games in seven days and seven over the course of the next 11. They’ll need Rubio to be fresh, particularly because the offense clicks at a much more efficient pace when Rubio is on the floor.
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