Enticing display in Ohio this night, between two of the hottest teams of the moment: the Ridersvictorious in nine of their last ten matches, and the Clippersin possession of a record of 22 victories and 4 defeats since the beginning of December.
This shock, in any case, was the Cavs who offered it (118-108), obviously under the impetus of Donovan Mitchell (28 points, 12 assists) and Jarrett Allen (20 points, 17 rebounds), who pulled out all the stops to respond to Kawhi Leonard (30 points, 8 rebounds) and others. Especially when the latter came back from -12 to -4 in the last five minutes.
The kind of success that sends a message for Clevelandin control of most of the meeting and who was able to resist the attempt to comeback late from Los Angelesyet comfortable in major events for two months.
TO REMEMBER
– Authoritarian Cleveland. Now victorious in ten of their last eleven games, the Cavaliers have achieved one of their greatest successes of the season, while still playing without Darius Garland (nevertheless very close to a return). If Kawhi Leonard shone, it's impossible to say the same about James Harden and especially Paul George on the Clippers side, which made the task easier for these Cavs, who were full of collective confidence and dominant in the racket. A benchmark victory, without shaking too much, which was built in the second half and which confirms that JB Bickerstaff's men are, with the Knicks, the best team in the East in January.
– The Return of Evan Mobley. Reinserted directly into the starting five after six weeks of absence, Evan Mobley returned to competition following his knee arthroscopy and came close to a double-double (10 points, 9 rebounds). Limited as expected in terms of playing time (21 minutes), the interior has the pleasure of returning to a team which is now performing very well and he therefore does not need to do too much, which will allow him to find slowly his feelings. As Jarrett Allen took on another dimension during his injury, we say to ourselves that the Cavs have something to hurt even more when Mobley is 100%…
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How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D=defensive rebound; T = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Pts = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
