Cleveland Cavaliers Proved They Can Survive Scares Without Donovan Mitchell

The Cleveland Cavaliers got back into the win column by surviving an early scare against the Brooklyn Nets.

Mar 1, 2026; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson reacts to a call in the third quarter against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

The Cleveland Cavaliers halted their losing streak at two games as they defeating the Brooklyn Nets 106-102 in a game that went down to the wire.

With the win, the Cavaliers move to 38-24 on the season and currently sit three games behind the Boston Celtics and 1.5 games behind the third place New York Knicks. The Cavaliers have a two game buffer between them and the No. 5 seeded Toronto Raptors. 

After losing two straight games by a combined five points, the Cavaliers faced an unlikely test from the Nets. The Cavaliers led after the first quarter by a 29-24 margin, but capitulated in the second quarter and allowed the Nets to jump out to a 56-42 lead at the halftime break. James Harden was questionable leading into the road game for Cleveland, but fought through a broken thumb injury to log 22 points in 36 minutes in the win. 

The Cavaliers used a third quarter run and built on that momentum going into the fourth quarter, building up a lead as large as eight at one point in the second half as they started to connect from beyond the arc. The Cavs win was impressive due to missing Donovan Mitchell, who sat out with a groin injury, and Dean Wade, who missed the contest due to a lingering sprained ankle. 

Cavaliers Found Success Beyond the Arc

Mar 1, 2026; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard James Harden (1) brings the ball up court in the second quarter against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

The Cavaliers were lethal from beyond the arc, shooting 48 percent from deep with 13 makes. One of the keys to the game for Cleveland was for Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen to clean up on the glass, and they did just that as the Cavaliers out-rebounded the Nets 38-32 in the contest. Mobley would record 13 boards while Allen hauled in six. 

The Cavaliers let Michael Porter Jr. run riot at times, as he logged 26 points in 30 minutes. Porter also recorded three steals. The Cavs were able to take care of business outside of Porters production, as they held Noah Clowney and Day’Ron Sharpe to five and seven points respectively. 

The Cavaliers now have a day off for travel, and will return home to play the Detroit Pistons, who they lost to 122-119 on February 27. The Cavaliers don't believe that the Pistons can beat then in a playoff series, so this is a great time to prove that.

The matchup against Detroit is slated for a 7:00 p.m. start on Tuesday, March 3.