The Cavs offense propelled them to another victory.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have won nine straight games, each by double-digits, as they defeated the Dallas Mavericks 134-122. Their offensive production has led the way with their ninth game of 130+ points this season.
Grades are based on our usual expectations for each player.
15 points (5-11 shooting), 6 assists, 2 steals
The Cavaliers scored in bunches tonight and Mitchell hardly had to exert himself. He took just 11 shots as he emphasized creating for his teammates. Mitchell’s understanding of when and where to dominate the ball has been a key to Cleveland’s success this season. His touches have drastically decreased as he’s matured into a selfless leader. Tonight was an excellent example of this.
34 points (14-21 shooting), 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks
Mobley is taking himself out of All-Star discussions and pushing himself into All-NBA consideration, at this point. In his first game since winning Defensive Player of the Month, Mobley notched 34 points and buried three triples en route to an all-around dominant performance against Dallas.
The two-way growth of Mobley has been a sight to behold. He looked confident letting the ball fly on his three-point attempts tonight and he shook his way to a handful of fall-away jumpers in the mid-range, as well.
Mobley’s array of scoring has been the biggest development of the season for Cleveland. This was already his fifth game of 25+ points this season after recording just three the year before.
16 points (6-12 shooting), 9 assists, 4 rebounds
Much like Mitchell, Garland didn’t need to assert himself as a scorer in this game. He previously recorded 14 assists against the Los Angeles Lakers and caps off this Western Conference road trip with another 9 assists to just 1 turnover against the Mavs.
Garland made passing look fun tonight. He threw numerous no-look dimes and included a few touch passes in transition to keep everyone on their toes. It’s always a joy when Garland is three steps ahead of the defense like he was in this game.
11 points (5-10 shooting), 9 rebounds, 1 block
Allen has really embraced his role in recent weeks. He’ll never get as much of the spotlight as his star teammates but he has impacted their wins in a major way. Tonight, his monster rejection and alley-oop on the other end was the exclamation point on a stellar two-way performance.
10 points (4-5 shooting), 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks
Wade has comfortably slid into the starting lineup and produced the type of games we all hoped to see from him on a consistent basis. He’s knocking down three-pointers, handling the ball just enough to be more than a specialist, and defending 1-5 on the other end to make him a connective two-way wing. We’d like to see him rebound a bit more in this game but there’s not much to complain about with how Wade has been playing.
2 points (1-5 shooting), 7 assists, 6 rebounds
Strus is still working his way back from an ankle injury that caused him to miss the first two months of the season. Tonight, his three-point shot wasn’t falling — but we saw another example of what makes Strus such a valuable piece of the puzzle. His rebounding and playmaking made him an overwhelming positive even with the poor shooting.
The chemistry between Strus and Mobley is something to keep an eye on. This was a bright spot last season and should only get brighter given the offensive growth we’ve seen from Mobley this season.
17 points (7-15 shooting), 4 rebounds, 2 assists
If LeVert isn’t in Sixth Man of the Year talks, that should change. He’s consistently lifted the Cavalier bench to being one of the best in the league. LeVert’s ability to score one-on-one and create for a teammate has made him a world-beater for opposing b-squads. His dazzling no-look finish was the highlight of the night.
15 points (6-9 shooting), 3 assists, 2 rebounds
Niang continues to improve upon every aspect of last season. He’s been a positive contributor even when his shot isn’t falling. Because of that, the games where his shot is falling feel even better than before. He nailed 3-5 three-pointers tonight but his crafty cuts to the basket and the few instances where he put the ball on the deck and created an advantage stood out above his three-point shooting.
9 points (3-5 shooting), 5 assists, 2 rebounds
Jerome has regressed to the mean. He isn’t the barn-burning shooter we saw in November — but he’s better than the player he was in mid-December. Jerome is averaging out to where we expected him to be, the third-string point guard who can provide quality minutes in a pinch. His poise in the pick-and-roll allowed him to rack up five assists tonight.
