A much, much needed win against a .500 team on the second night of a back-to-back on the road with three starters out. It still went to OT. The Cavs miss Jarrett Allen in the worst way. Mobley is just too slim to handle these burly centers. Zubac and Hartenstein combined for 34 points, 20 rebounds, and went 15-for-20 from the field. But Mobley had a huge block on a Zubac dunk to get the Cavs going in OT.
This game never should have gone to OT but the Cavs missed 9 free throws, any one of which would have won it for them in regulation.
Cedi was a -11 in 8 minutes in the first half and JBB sat him down for the rest of the game, giving Windler 12 minutes. He didn't score but he kicked in 5 rebounds.
Mobley was amazing with 30 points in 40 minutes while banging with Zubac and Hartenstein the whole time. Okoro stepped up big with 20 points, 5 boards, and 5 assists while going 11-for-13 from the line. He was a team high +21. He is really going to be sore tomorrow as he was taking hard fouls at the rim all night.
The Cavs were very lucky Markkanen and LeVert were available. They combined for 28 points, 16 rebounds, and 4 assists. Without them this game would not have been close. Welcome back, fellas, you got here just in time.
Garland was scoreless at halftime but got going in the second half and ended up with 24 points and 13 assists. He only had three turnovers in 46 minutes so that's progress.
As I expected, the Clippers bench warmers came out swinging. Despite three of their bench guys starting, the rest of the bench got 24 points in the first half.
The Cavs had a bad first half defensively, allowing 57 points to the team ranked 24th in scoring and playing without four of their leading scorers. But they improved in the second half, holding them to 49 points and only 5 in the overtime.
It's really great to have Markkanen and LeVert back, although LeVert needs to stop picking up the ball in the paint when he doesn't have a shot or a pass.
The Cavs just have to keep grinding out wins any way they can until Allen gets back.