1 stud and 1 dud for Cavs in big win against the Kings

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Kevin Love, Cleveland Cavaliers. (Photo by Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports) /

The Cleveland Cavaliers are playing some beautiful basketball this season, especially in their latest win against the Sacramento Kings, as they bounced them out of Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse Saturday night 117-103. The Cavs now stand at 16-12 with their season record and don’t look like they’re slowing down any time soon. They are now on a new three-game win streak to boot.

NBA hoops are all about runs and streaks and the Wine and Gold had many of those in this game. They closed the first half on a 16-4 run and were up 81-52 at halftime. That’s only the second time the Cavs have scored that many points in a first half in franchise history. The other time was back in 2016 and their championship season when they beat the Portland Trail Blazers.

This new Cavs team is playing team basketball at its highest level. They had seven players score in double figures again. They also had a player score 20 points or more again. They are one of only three teams in the NBA this season to have at least one player score north of 20 points in every game, too.

The distributing of the ball, the unselfish play, the chasing after the loose balls, and getting those vital 50/50 balls are all very evident right now with this youthful team. The mix of the young, where most of the players are under the age of 24, with experienced veterans like Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio has created a really special team this season.

Similarly to their start in Friday’s big win at the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Cavs got off again to a fast start and were up 36-23 at the end of the first quarter. The defense was outstanding by the Wine and Gold in limiting the Kings to 38 percent shooting in the first quarter.

After the first half, the Cavaliers struggled a bit more down the stretch as the Kings eked their way back to within eight points a few times late, but a couple of three-point makes by the savvy veteran Rubio put an end to any miracle comeback by Sacramento.

There were so many excellent performances by Cavalier players in this team win. It is becoming a difficult task to limit the one stud award to just one Cavalier, but we’ll try our best.