Cavs: 1 stud, 1 dud from a standout win over the Clippers

The Cleveland Cavaliers have won three games in a row for the first time since February of last season, when the Cavs won four straight games. From the end of that small winning streak until the start of this one, they went 8-31, a team riddled with injuries and youth.

Now they look like a team stocked with talent and determination, a team that can go toe-to-toe with anyone. The Cavs went into STAPLES Center and beat the LA Clippers 92-79 on Wednesday night, a dominant defensive performance against a team that ranked fourth in defensive rating a season ago. The Clippers hadn’t scored this few points since their third game of last season.

The Cavs have won three-in-a-row after stomping the LA Clippers. What stands out from the standout victory?

Whenever a team wins comfortably against a favorite (Clippers were something between 7.5 and 9.0 favorites heading into the game) there are plenty of places to spread praise. We will narrow things down to one highlight and one lowlight to go a little deeper.

Before doing that, however, we have to shout out the entire team defensive effort. The Clippers shot just 35.6 percent from the field and 22 percent from 3-point range. Evan Mobley was once again everywhere shutting off drives and scaring guards into poor shots. Jarrett Allen was big inside. Lamar Stevens came into the rotation in the absence of Isaac Okoro and was +15 on the night defending the Clippers’ talented perimeter players.

The Cavs’ defense was truly a “stud” tonight, but we’ll look at the player who carried the offense and then the reason why the offense had to be carried.