Dribbles: Cavs topple Kings, but still searching for their best version

CLEVELAND — Random dribbles from the Cavaliers’ 123-118 win over the Sacramento Kings on Friday night. 

1. It is not always pretty. It is not always smooth. But the Cavaliers have now won nine of their last 13, and that is the business.

2. The process? Messy at times. Some losses have been flat-out ugly. Some wins have felt like survival.

3. This one lived right in the middle. The Cavs (26-20) jumped out early … cooled off … rebuilt a double-digit lead … then had to grind it out late.

4. That has become the season in a nutshell. Peaks, dips, and just enough execution to get through.

5. Donovan Mitchell does not see that as a bad thing. “This is gonna help us ultimately,” he said. “Finding ways.”

6. Mitchell found plenty of them. Thirty-three points, eight assists, one turnover. That last number matters, especially with Darius Garland still out and Mitchell coming off an eight-turnover night.

7. Evan Mobley may have been the real Player of the Game. Twenty-nine points, 13 rebounds, seven assists, four blocks. One of his best all-around performances of the season.

8. Kenny Atkinson said Mobley “was like Shaquille (O’Neal) tonight. Rim, rim, rim. Then dominated defensively. We needed it.”

9. The challenge now is unlocking that version of Mobley more consistently.

10. Jaylon Tyson chipped in 17 and seven. Jarrett Allen posted 15 and 10. Dean Wade earned praise for a clutch strip of DeMar DeRozan. The margins mattered.

11. Big picture time.The Cavs are good. They are not yet what we thought they might be. Not consistently. This game showed both sides of that.

12. The Kings (12-34) are struggling, despite talent. The roster construction is confusing. Trading Tyrese Haliburton and De’Aaron Fox, then patching point guard with Russell Westbrook and Dennis Schroder, is an odd choice. But hey, you do you.

13. Anyway, back to the Cavs. They have played down to the competition at times. Call it cliché, but it feels real. The cohesion has come in flashes, not stretches.

14. That is not a crisis before the All-Star break. The Pacers sat at 26-20 at this point last season and turned out just fine. Still, it is fair to long for a sustained run.

15. Regardless, the Cavs will take the wins. The next step is sharper, cleaner, more convincing basketball.