Once again, the Cavaliers showcased their size in the interior sector to win against the Magic 96-86. The Evan Mobley – Jarrett Allen duo stood out under the circle and in the fight for the rebound. Certainly, after grabbing 11 rebounds in the first round, Evan Mobley was satisfied with 7 holds on Monday evening. A meager total mainly due to the omnipresence of Jarrett Allen at his side.
On Monday, the All-Star took out the vacuum cleaner, to the point of capturing 20. He had already vacuumed up 18 in the first game. If we add his 16 points and his 3 blocks, we can clearly make him the MVP of this meeting.
“If I win my duel against my opposite number, that makes it one in five. Donovan wins his, that makes it two out of five. If I can do my part, it helps us move forward,” explains Jarrett Allen. “Everyone says that I play an important role, and even an essential role with my rebounds, my blocks, my shots, my defense… I just try to do my part of the job and that helps us a lot. »
His coach is much more expansive about the level of play of the former Nets pivot. “Words fail… He was phenomenal”, says JB Bickerstaff. “He is aware of what needs to be done, and he does his best to achieve it. We knew that this series was going to be won on the inside. We knew we were going to have to do a great job rebounding. »
A franchise record in your pocket
With his 20 rebounds, Jarrett Allen is only the third player in Cavaliers history to reach this mark in a single playoff game. The other two are Brad Daugherty (1993) and Kevin Love (2017). Better still, he even tied a franchise record with his nine offensive rebounds!
With such performances, he chases away the demons that haunted him after the lost series against the Knicks in 2023. In the last three games, he had only taken 13 rebounds in total.
“He has pride! » assures Donovan Mitchell. “And seeing how it happened last year, you could see he was motivated. He showed it to us throughout the season. I had no doubt he was a player like that. »
