The Cavs continue their transformation into victory. Last night, it was the Spurs who paid the price, bowing on the occasion of the return of Darius Garland, just crowned with his selection at the All Star Game, and the successful first of Caris LeVert.
After a balanced first quarter, marked by the services of Darius Garland for the dunk of Isaac Okoro and the alley-oop of Jarrett Allen on one side and the dunk of Dejounte Murray on the other (29-30), the Cavs took the lead with a 17-4 powered by missile 3-pointers from Rajon Rondo, Caris LeVert and Cedi Osman (36-46).
On the verge of breaking, San Antonio held on until the break thanks to Keldon Johnson’s brilliant shots. Then in the third quarter, when the Garland-Okoro tandem warmed up to bring the gap to +23 (73-50), it was Devin Vassell who kept the Spurs alive, well accompanied by the traction Murray -White (84-71).
With courage, the Texans finally reduced this gap to 7 points in the final, with the help of an inspired White-Vassell-Poeltl trio (92-85). Darius Garland then fended off the danger with a 2-point step-back. Jarrett Allen then took it twice to breathe new life into his team, before finally killing the match following two serves from Darius Garland (105-87).
Winners 105-92, the Cavs thus preserve their place in the Top 4 of the Eastern Conference.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– The Cavs response in the finale. Under pressure when Spurs pulled the gap to 7 points, the hosts didn’t even have time to panic, relying on Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen to go 13-2 in stride and definitely kill the suspense.
– The work of the Mobley-Allen pair. Among the Cavs players who will take part in the All Star Weekend, the two representatives of Cleveland’s “Very Tall Ball”, although deprived of Lauri Markkanen, have still done a hell of a job in the paint. Alongside Jarrett Allen’s 15 points and 14 rebounds, rookie Evan Mobley had 18 points and 12 rebounds. To top it all off, both insides were active in the final to secure victory.
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ Darius Garland. A full match, barely nuanced by his six stray balls. The All-Star behaved as such by going for the basket that revived his team in the final and then finding Jarrett Allen twice at the best time.
✅ Caris LeVert. Applauded by the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse when he entered the game, Caris LeVert quickly distinguished himself with a lay-up and a service in the corner for Isaac Okoro’s 3-pointer. Author of 11 points in 28 minutes and despite a little waste in shooting (4/11), he brings JB Bickerstaff one more precious “playmaker” off the bench. His first release was in any case promising.
THE FOLLOWING
Cleveland (34-21): the Cavs kick off a three-game road trip to Indiana on Friday.
San Antonio (20-35): the Spurs continue in Atlanta this Friday.
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