1 stud and 1 dud for Cavs in their overtime win over Nuggets

Cavs stud: Lauri Markkanen

As I alluded to on the previous slide, Markkanen easily had his best game as a Cavalier recording an efficient 31 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, and 4 steals. Markkanen was an excellent 6-of-12 from three-point land and played some solid defense on whoever he was manning up for that possession. Of course, Jokic did get buckets on Markkanen in stretches, but Markkanen’s active hands did pay off, and he did force some crucial misses in key sequences, and in fairness, Jokic is one of the game’s best and most versatile bigs.

The 31 points, 6 made threes, and 4 steals are season-highs for Markkanen. The season has not been perfect for Markkanen as it has been injury-ridden but hopefully, he can use this game to get into a rhythm. Regardless, this type of game from him is encouraging just a few weeks out from the start of the playoffs.

Markkanen’s clutch overtime three-pointer was when the decision was clear for who was getting the stud of the night. Both Evan Mobley and Garland had fantastic games as well though and deserve some recognition.

Garland dropped 25 points and dished out 14 dimes to go with 4 rebounds, including 1 huge offensive rebound in overtime that we touched on.

Mobley had one of the best games of his young career, from there, recording 27 points, 11 rebounds, and 2 blocks. His nine points in overtime were crucial for Cleveland, too, as was his help defense.