The Cavaliers close out 2024 with a win.
The Cleveland Cavaliers appear to be falling into a pattern as of late. Start off slower offensively and allow their opponent to develop false hope in the first half, only to come out in the second half and quickly squander those hopes and dreams.
As per usual as well, Mitchell was instrumental in many of the Cavaliers' big swings in this game to keep the Los Angeles Lakers at bay. Mitchell was explosive in the first quarter as well as closing the third quarter and the opening of the fourth. Mitchell, when he realizes his shots are falling, is one of the most devastating players to go up against. Mitchell finished the game with 26 points on 8-20 shooting.
Jarrett Allen had an excellent night against one of the more daunting matchups in Anthony Davis. Allen was out hustling the All-NBA level center consistently running full court and playing excellent transition defense. He also came up clutch late with great rim running and grabbing the pivotal boards. This was a great showing for Allen who feels like his performances are starting to trend back in the right direction. Allen finished with 29 points and 13 rebounds.
The role players showed out as well as Max Strus had his best game since his making his season debut a few weeks ago. Strus has been hunting to find his groove and has felt out of sync within the well-oiled machine that’s Cleveland’s offense. However, against the Lakers, Max Strus looked like someone who could add to the Cavs’ embarrassment of riches. Strus shot 5-9 ending the game with 15 points.
Niang also had a decent showing. While not a game that pops out in the box score only scoring 9 points on 3-5 shooting, Niang was hustling and as usual was ready to bump bodies and get scrappy against the Lakers all night.
While the Lakers flirted with making this a tighter affair on multiple occasions cutting the lead to five at the 2:40 mark the Cavaliers are no stranger to pulling the rug out on the opponents. Allen’s efforts late deflated the Lakers almost single-handedly. The Cavaliers had fended off many stretches of quality play from the Lakers and ended the hopes of the Lakers to secure the win for the Cavaliers.
The Cavaliers play against the Mavericks on Friday, Jan. 3.
