Dribbles: Cavs Show Yet Again That Sky’s The Limit When It All Clicks, And Man, It’s Really Clicking

Random dribbles following the Cavaliers’ sizzling 149-135 road win over the Denver Nuggets on Friday. …Nikola Jokic, Nuggets, Jarrett Allen, Donovan Mitchell, Cavaliers, Cavs, NBA

1. When a team sets the franchise record for points in a road game, it’s hard to know where to begin. So I’ll try to keep it as simple as possible.

2. Donovan Mitchell was amazing.

3. Jarrett Allen was amazing.

4. Evan Mobley was amazing.

5. Darius Garland was amazing.

6. Sorry if that’s not in the correct order or if you feel I may have left someone out. Truth is, when you win like this, like the Cavs keep on winning, you get contributions from everywhere.

7. A couple of big 3-pointers by Sam Merrill in the first half and Caris LeVert in the second also counted for a lot. Dean Wade gave an underrated all-around showing. Max Strus hustled his buns off. Same goes for Georges Niang and Ty Jerome in limited minutes.

8. The Cavs’ 27-4 record is the best in the NBA, yes. But it is also the best mark in franchise history after 31 games. That’s right, not even LeBron James did this.

9. Cleveland shot a remarkable 59 percent from the field. That included 49 percent on threes (23-of-48). I mean, seriously people. This is ridiculous.

10. Mitchell finished with a game-high 33 points on 10-of-17 shooting (6-of-12 on threes). Garland went for 25 points on 10-of-18. Mobley hit 26 on 9-of-13. He was 4-of-6 on threes, including a couple biggies late. Allen was magnificent in collecting 22 points (10-of-12 shooting) and 10 rebounds.

11. Let’s back up for a second. Imagine Mobley taking six threes in a game. And hitting four. Coach Kenny Atkinson was hired in part to get Mobley’s offense to another level. And here we are. It’s been a whole lot of wow.

12. Now for Allen. He also record four assists and three steals. He was everywhere. Garland passed for seven assists and recorded four steals. This game was basically like a video game, with the Cavs bringing it to real life.

13. When Atkinson says athletes have never been better, I believe him. And if national TV ratings are bad, well, people don’t know what they’re missing. This is just high-value entertainment all the way around.

14. The Nuggets (16-13) are a good team. They were at home. They likely need another move to return to championship contention and were missing starting forward Aaron Gordon (calf). But still. This was just doggone impressive for the Cavs.

15. Nikola Jokic was again incredible with 27 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists. He is mostly a one-man act. Jamal Murray had a great game with 27 points himself. But this team just doesn’t go deep enough. The bench is incredibly thin. And Russell Westbrook is on his last legs. Garland went right around him whenever he wanted.

16. On paper, this is the Cavs’ most difficult stretch of the early-ish season. At Denver. At Golden State. At the LA Lakers for LeBron’s first game as a 40-year-old. Then Cleveland wraps it up with a road game against defending Western Conference champion Dallas.

17. But if the Cavs can continue to play like this offensively, and step it up a notch on defense, they won’t need to worry. You should have enough confidence in Atkinson and the players by now to believe.

18. By the way, they haven’t trailed in the fourth quarter since their loss in Miami on Dec. 8. Basically, nearly every last number associated with this team is something Cleveland fans haven’t previously seen.

19. Oh, the 149 points are the most in a game in the history of the Cleveland Cavaliers. I know. I probably should’ve mentioned that sooner. But with this team, there’s just so much good stuff to get to, it’s hard to know what to put where, or even to remember it all.

20. So make it a season sweep of the Nuggets. The Cavs will get a chance to do the same against the Warriors and Lakers. As Allen told Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, “We’ve been playing good basketball against everybody except for the Hawks this year.”

21. Of course, Allen could be accused of a big understatement there. This wasn’t just good basketball. This was a clinic, a masterclass, a happening. And that is Cavaliers basketball in 2024-25.

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