Cavs go into San Antonio and take the Spurs for a ride which is only fitting since this is the last home game for the Spurs before they head out for their annual rodeo roadtrip.
Victor Wembanyama is the big name, and big figure, but the Cavs bigs came out on top tonight. Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen each had a double-double and combined for 54 points and 26 rebounds – that’s half the Spurs point total for the night. The bigs started the game hot, and lead the way for a Cavalier victory
Speaking of which: The Cavs first 12 points were all within the paint with Mobley and Allen having 10. They challenged Wemby early and often and were not deterred by his length one bit.
The Cavs were taking what the Spurs were giving them which was everything inside. It wasn’t until 5:15 that Caris LeVert made the Cavs first three-pointer.
On the flipside, the three-point shot is what kept the Spurs in the game early. They went 6-13 from three in the first quarter and 6 of their 9 made field goals were from behind the arc.
Despite shooting sub-40% from the field, the Spurs were within 5 at the end of the first quarter because of their proficiency from behind the line.
I’ll give JB Bickerstaff the benefit of the doubt, that the LeVert on, Garland and Mitchell off lineups are just because of Garland’s minutes restriction but once again the LeVert only lineups was a -6 in the last 90 seconds of the first quarter.
The second quarter was all about Mobley. He was aggressive on offense early and hunting for his shot. The 15-point straight outburst to start the quarter is exactly what everyone has been looking for out of Mobley. Not 15 straight but just the assertiveness, and semblance of a face-up game that would propel this team to a different level.
Within that little run was a pull-up jumper over Wemby follow by two spot-up three-pointers by Mobley. Mobley was hitting jumpers people said he never had.
Postgame, Donovan Mitchell said Mobley set the tone for the Cavs offensively and defensively. A 15-9 run in a quarter by yourself will do that.
The Cavs were really getting whatever they wanted offensively as evidenced by their 37 points in the quarter. Particularly, the guards were doing a good job setting the bigs up around the rim for easy conversation opportunities.
Not to be outdone, Allen had a double-double at halftime. He had 12 points, and 4 rebounds in the second quarter.
The key stretch in the second was a 17-4 run by the Cavs over a five-minute stretch that put the Cavs up by 19.
Somehow Max Strus was 0-5 from the field (0-4 3P), had 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block and 1 turnover and yet was a +16.
Strus and Georges Niang were 0-6 from three at half time and finished the game 2-15. Yes, you read that right.
At one point in the second half, Niang had four missed threes in three minutes.
Good LeVert came out in the first half with 10 points and 3 assists. He finished the night with 6 assists and 15 points created. And in perfect LeVert fashion, he had 0 points in 12 second half minutes despite 10 in 12 minutes in the first half.
After going down 26 early in the third quarter, the Spurs went on a 12-0 run.
Mitchell really kept the Cavs in the game in the third quarter. With the Spurs pushing back, Mitchell went for 12 points, an assist and some key hustle plays. He had two offensive rebounds and one steal that led to a transition dunk
If the jumper brigade in the second quarter wasn’t enough, Mobley hit another spot-up three-pointer in the fourth quarter. He finished the night with a career high three three-pointers which is the first time he’s made more than two in his career.
The Cavs gave some ground in the fourth quarter and really looked like a team ready to end their road trip and head home. They went 8-22 from the field including 3-13 from three.
Despite a 67 point first half, the Cavs only mustered a 50 point second half. Part of that was the lack of another perimeter scorer getting hot (although they didn’t need it with how Allen and Mobley were playing), and the other was going cold from three. After going 7-19 in the first half they went 6-25 in the second half.
The Spurs got as close as 13 in the fourth quarter but that was as close as they got since about mid-way through the second quarter. The Cavs were in the driver’s seat for most of the night and rebuffed any significant moves the Spurs tried to make.
Things did get a bit chippy before the two teams parted ways. After a Zach Collins illegal screen, that included an elbow to Mitchell’s face, both players were ejected after a short skirmish ensued.
After going 6-13 from three in the first quarter, the Spurs went 6-27 the rest of the way.
The Cavs bench was outscored by 21 points.
The Cavs did leave their mark in the transition game outscoring the Spurs 20-9. They were eager and opportunistic all night to push after misses.
Up next: The Cavs return home on Monday to take on the Sacramento Kings at 7PM (ET).
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