Dribbles: Cavs Rock, Roll, And Have Grand Ol’ Time In Trouncing Nets

December 16, 2024

Random dribbles following the Cavaliers’ 130-101 road hammer job of the Nets on Monday night. …

1. That was a basketball bloodbath. And that’s the nice version.

2. The Cavs trailed 7-0. Then they went on a 32-5 run, with a lot of those baskets coming quickly, generated by defense, especially that of Caris LeVert.

3. As radio play-by-play man Tim Alcorn said, LeVert used his “snake arms” to generate steals in reserve, quickly changing the momentum. He also buried three 3-pointers in the first quarter alone, scoring 19 for the game — second only to Evan Mobley‘s 21.

4. While LeVert is the only player I’ve mentioned more than once, this was just a clinic put on by the entire team. The Cavs (23-4) led 37-17 at the end of the first quarter and 72-40 at halftime. Yes, the lead was 32 with 24 minutes to go. Sadly for the Nets, the league required them to play the rest of the game.

5. Sadly for most of those in attendance, there wasn’t a running clock. But we all knew it was over before the third quarter even started.

6. It’s hard to pick just one star. Donovan Mitchell scored 18 and was a plus-29. Georges Niang tacked on 17 points and nine rebounds and was a plus-28. Mitchell played 30 minutes — and was the only member of the team to surpass 25.

7. So that should tell you a little something about the fourth quarter. It was 12 minutes of pure garbage time.

8. Jarrett Allen added 12 points on 5-of-5 shooting and eight boards. Isaac Okoro also scored 12 before exiting with a shoulder injury. It’s hard to know the severity of it. You wouldn’t think it’s too bad, given that Okoro buried a three after getting hurt.

9. Darius Garland only scored 11 (4-of-6 from the field), but that’s mostly because he was barely needed. He played just half the game, directed the offense like a true pro and forced nothing.

10. This also marked coach Kenny Atkinson‘s first return to Brooklyn as a head coach. The Nets fired him in 2020. I’d say this served as a pretty nice revenge game.

11. Interestingly, the Cavs had two games added to their schedule after not making the NBA Cup knockout round — Washington and Brooklyn. I figured they’d blow out the Wizards at home and struggle on the road against the Nets. The opposite happened.

12. Niang to FanDuel Sports Network on the win: “The biggest thing about is, yes, there’s a lot of hype around us, but we’re continuing to take it a day at a time. Winning is awesome but we have higher aspirations. We want to continue to grow and get better.”

13. That says a lot, given that the Cavaliers have the league’s best record. Now, they get another three days off before facing the Milwaukee Bucks at home on Friday.

14. As for cool stats, Cleveland recorded 33 assists on 43 made shots and knocked down 19 threes. That’s the type of ball movement and “shot quality” Atkinson wants to see.

15. Cam Johnson led the Nets (10-16) with 22 points. He’s a nice player who always gives his all. Given the state of Brooklyn, I’d be surprised if he’s still there after the February trade deadline. The Nets already traded Dennis Schroder over the weekend and it was clear they lacked steady point guard play. Like, really clear.

16. So that’s it for now. The Cavaliers again resembled world-beaters. It’s been an ongoing theme to the season. You can’t beat that and through 27 games, it’s darn tough to beat the Cavs at all.