Dribbles: Cavs take control, keep it in rout of LeBron James, Sixers

CLEVELAND — Random dribbles from the Cavaliers’ 119-95 home win over the 76ers in their NBA Cup opener on Friday.

1. Boy, did the Cavs need a night like that. Build a big lead. Keep the opposing team at bay. Handle a contender at home. After some of what we’ve seen early this season, it was nice to watch them finish the job.

2. The last time these teams met, the Cavs blew a 29-point lead. This time, they went up by 23 and remained in control. Nobody had to spend the fourth quarter wondering how they were going to give this one away.

3. And man, did LeBron James look old. I’ve seen him have some rough nights since turning 40. I don’t know that I’ve seen him look much worse. He finished with eight points on 3-of-12 shooting and committed six turnovers. Whatever the Cavs threw at him, he struggled to handle it.

4. As bad as LeBron was, Joel Embiid had an even harder time getting a shot to fall. He went 0-of-9 from the field, with all six of his points coming at the line. It’s safe to say Evan Mobley won that battle, and by a landslide.

5. Mobley scored 22 points and played perhaps his best all-around game of the season. There are nights when you want him to be more involved, more aggressive, more of a factor. This wasn’t one of them. He was right in the middle of what made the Cavs so good.

6. Donovan Mitchell led the way with 23 points and a game-high eight assists. He seemed to approach this like a playoff game. Mitchell cited the bad loss in Oklahoma City the other night as extra motivation, and he played like someone who had no interest in sitting through another one.

7. Kenny Atkinson on Mitchell: “He knows we needed this win. He’s got a great sense of the moment. I thought he did a great job of passing the ball tonight, too.”

8. James Harden added 17 points. But with Jarrett Allen (knee) out and Sam Merrill (elbow) exiting at halftime, the Cavs needed contributions from more than the usual three. That’s where this became a particularly encouraging night.

9. Mario Hezonja came off the bench to score 15. Peyton Watson returned and had 13. Thomas Bryant also scored 13, and Meleek Thomas fired in 12. The Cavs didn’t need Mitchell to go for 40 or Harden to manufacture something on every possession. They had help.

10. Still, ask Atkinson why the Cavs won so convincingly, and he’ll quickly sum it up in a word: “Defense.”

11. A big part of that was the job Watson and others did on Tyrese Maxey. He’s become the Sixers’ main man, even with all those other names around him. But Maxey finished 5-of-15 from the field, and the fresh bodies the Cavs kept sending his way had plenty to do with it. Watson’s return gave them another option against a guy who can wear out a defense.

12. Atkinson was equally pleased with Mobley. “He’s just been playing great basketball,” the coach said. Whatever the national discussion about Mobley might be, Atkinson clearly likes what he’s getting. Friday offered plenty of reasons why.

13. You can make a strong case that this was the Cavs’ most complete game of the season. The main guys delivered. The bench contributed. The defense made life miserable for some very accomplished scorers. That’s a pretty good way to get to 5-4.

14. The Cavs can enjoy it for a few hours. Then come the defending champion Knicks on Saturday. Yes, the same team that swept them from the Eastern Conference finals. The Sixers arrived at 8-1, so this was already a tough assignment. The second half of the back-to-back won’t be any easier.

15. The availability of Allen, Merrill and Jaylon Tyson (ankle) will be something to watch. Tyson, by the way, was sporting a New Orleans Saints jersey on the sideline. Makes sense. His brother, Jordyn, is a heralded Saints rookie expected to make his NFL debut Sunday against the Browns.

16. Anyway, this was one night. The Cavs have had a few good ones already, followed by some that made you wonder where it all went. Against the Sixers, they gave themselves a lead and kept doing the things that built it. Now let’s see how much of that carries over against the Knicks.