The Cleveland Cavaliers are here, for real.
The Eastern Conference’s newest contender cemented their status as one of the NBA’s elite teams on Thursday (AEDT) with a 114-113 over the Boston Celtics in overtime.
With Darius Garland returning from injury, fans were able to see what a full-strength Cleveland team is going to look like after the blockbuster trade for Donovan Mitchell.
Garland finished with 29 points and 12 assists, while Mitchell made several big plays down the stretch on his way to 25 points.
Thu, 03 Nov
Thursday November 3rd
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Cleveland acquired Mitchell from the Utah Jazz for three players and three first-round picks in the off-season, adding a closer to a young team that fell short when it mattered most last season.
Against Boston, Mitchell stood up, despite momentum being on Boston’s side after Jayson Tatum delivered a dunk of the season contender to level the scores and send the game to overtime.
Tatum finished with 26 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, and four blocks, while Jaylen Brown topped the score with 30 points.
Cleveland is now 6-1 on the young season; the Cavs’ only loss came in the first game of the season.
The Cavaliers’ other starters — Caris LeVert (15 points), Evan Mobley (15), and Jarrett Allen (14) — all finished in double digits.
“It means a lot,” Garland said of having Mitchell on the team. “… He’s been to the playoffs before, many times, so he’s bringing that knowledge to us.”
Garland added: “We’re just locked in… the coaches have a great game plan, we try to execute on defense and execute on offense, and see where the chips fall.”
DELLY’S BACK
The Matthew Dellavedova experience is well and truly back under way.
After securing a shock one-year deal with the Kings after a year with Melbourne United in the NBL, Dellavedova once again put together a trademark ‘pest’ performance on Thursday to help an understrength Sacramento team go toe-to-toe with Miami.
The Heat finished 110-107 winners, but Dellavedova was +1 in his 20 minutes off the bench as the Kings had to compete without De’Aaron Fox.
Dellavedova tallied five points, two rebounds and an assist, but forced turnovers on the defensive end, and helped a young Sacramento team stay afloat, before a Tyler Herro game-winner broke hearts.
Dellavedova was so effective that head coach Mike Brown put the Australian back into the game with less than a minute left to try to stop the Heat offense.
“At the end of the day, you can have all the talent in the world, if you’re a winner and you have mental toughness and physical toughness, you can perform for anybody at any level,” Brown said about Dellavedova earlier this week. .
“That’s what he brings to the table for us. He brings a leadership presence off the bench. He brings the understanding of what his role is; he embraces his role.
“He’s a guy that I know any time we call his number, he’s going to be ready to play.”
Dellavedova’s performance against the Heat was only his second appearance of the season — excluding his 34 seconds against Memphis — after he helped the Kings to a comeback win in Charlotte.
AROUND THE COURTS
In the early game, Philadelphia dropped to their fifth defeat of the season against the Washington Wizards.
Without Joel Embiid, it was Tyrese Maxey (32 points) and James Harden (24 points and 10 assists), who led the way for a Sixers team that once against came up short.
Kristaps Porzingis topscored for Washington with 30 points, while Bradley Beal added 29 on the way to the 112-99 win.
Elsewhere, it was Dejounte Murray who took over Madison Square Garden as he dropped 36 points to help the Hawks to a 112-99 win over the Knicks.
Chicago did enough to get past a weakened Charlotte team, while Toronto put a stop to San Antonio’s positive start to the season with a 43-point win.
Luka Doncic tallied another 30-point game (33 points) as Dallas squeezed past Utah, while Milwaukee dealt comfortably with Detroit.
Meanwhile, Paul George had 28 points for the Clippers, who kept Houston at bay.
NBA SCORES
WASHINGTON 121 — 111 PHILADELPHIA 76ERS
BOSTON CELTICS 113 — 114 CLEVELAND CAVALIERS
SACRAMENTO KINGS 107 — 110 MIAMI HEAT
ATLANTA HAWKS 112 — 99 NEW YORK KNICKS
CHARLOTTE HORNETS 88 — 106 CHICAGO BULLS
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS 109 — 101 HOUSTON ROCKETS
DETROIT PISTONS 91 — 116 MILWAUKEE BUCKS
TORONTO RAPTORS 143 — 100 SAN ANTONIO SPURS
UTAH JAZZ 100 — 103 DALLAS MAVERICKS
MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES — PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS
NEW ORLEANS PELICANS — LOS ANGELES LAKERS
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