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It wasn’t pretty by any stretch, but the Cleveland Cavaliers did enough to end their brief two-game losing streak. They defeated the Brooklyn Nets 106-102 thanks to strong performances from James Harden and Jarrett Allen.
Cleveland got off to a good start. They exerted their sizeable talent advantage early on as they opened up an 11-point advantage midway through the first quarter. It seemed like they were going to run away with this, but they couldn’t maintain the focus to do so.
Turnovers allowed the Nets to get back into the game. Cleveland coughed it up 11 times in the first half, slowing any momentum their offense had gathered. Brooklyn wasn’t able to capitalize as they only registered seven points off turnovers in the first half. The turnovers did allow them to slow down Cleveland’s offense.
The Cavs were held to just 46 points in the first half, allowing the Nets to take a six-point advantage into the break.
Cleveland’s offense came back to life in the third quarter, thanks to 12 points and two assists from Harden in that frame. The defense tightened up as well, as they outscored Brooklyn 28-23 in that frame to head into the fourth quarter down just one.
This continued into the fourth quarter as the Cavs methodically wore the Nets down and had some timely shooting from Sam Merrill.
Evan Mobley had a strong start to the fourth with a hybrid bench lineup that helped the Cavs maintain their momentum and retake the lead. Cleveland gradually extended their lead to nine once the majority of its starters reentered the game.
However, that didn’t last. Cleveland once again struggled to close the game. They were up seven with a minute and a half left, but let the Nets cut the deficit to one thanks to more missed free throws and an eight-second violation. It was a fitting end for what was a sloppy game.
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Harden performed well in his first game back in the lineup after breaking his thumb in last Tuesday’s win over the New York Knicks. He appeared able to make his normal passes and didn’t seem like he had trouble dribbling, which is something head coach Kenny Atkinson said he was struggling to do as recently as Friday.
Harden led Cleveland in scoring and assists as he poured in 22 points on 5-9 shooting to go along with eight assists and nine boards.
Harden wasn’t the only Cavalier to return to the lineup after breaking a finger. Keon Ellis also played his first game since doing so in Wednesday’s loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, and looked like his usual self, earning his way into the closing lineup. He was active defensively, coming up with five blocks and three steals while contributing four points in the victory.
Brooklyn did their best to keep Allen out of the paint. They swarmed him every time he got the ball, which led to a somewhat inefficient scoring night by his standards as he went 7-12 from the field. However, an inefficient scoring night from Allen is still more efficient than most of the league.
The Cavs are at their best when Allen is heavily involved in the offense. That was the case once again as he provided 20 points and six rebounds in the victory.
Mobley’s stat sheet doesn’t jump off the page, but the Cavs played their best basketball when he was on the floor. Cleveland outscored Brooklyn by 24 when he was playing, as he finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds, including four big offensive rebounds, in the victory. This was his second strong game in a row after struggling to find his place in his first few games back from injury.
Merrill hit several timely threes as he went 4-6 from beyond the arc en route to 15 points.
The Nets were led by 26 points from Michael Porter Jr. on 10-17 shooting. Danny Wolf provided 23 points and nine rebounds off the bench.
It was an ugly game, but the Cavs did enough to win. That’s what matters, given the injuries they’ve had to play through and the fact that this was their seventh game in 11 days.
The Cavaliers will look to avenge Friday’s loss to the Detroit Pistons as they welcome them to town on Tuesday. Tip-off is at 7 PM.