The Cleveland Cavaliers should not be riding a four-game winning streak. They have been playing without All-Star point guard Darius Garland, not to mention Ricky Rubio, and their backcourt pairing of Donovan Mitchell and Caris LeVert were essentially new to the team. Add in some difficult matchups early in the year, and no one would have blamed the Cavs for a scuffling start.
Instead, even as the rest of the Eastern Conference displays some incredibly strong teams, the Cavs have stepped up and planted themselves right in the mix at the top of the conference. They are 4-1, tied with the Phoenix Suns with the league’s best net rating and with a couple of statement wins to their name.
The Cleveland Cavaliers had a statement win in Boston Friday night. What insane stats stand out the most from the thrilling overtime victory?
The latest came last night, when the Cavs went into Boston and came away with a victory. The Celtics are the defending Eastern Conference champions and were playing very well to start the season. With two big scoring wings, they were exactly the team to take advantage of the Cavs’ uncertainty at small forward.
Instead, it’s the Cavs who broke the Celtics’ defense, scoring 132 points in an overtime win and completely overwhelming Boston in the final period. Down 13 points at the half, they came away with a nine-point victory. Donovan Mitchell and Caris LeVert each scored 41 points, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen had double-doubles, and the Cavs announced themselves as a legitimate contender in the Eastern Conference.
It was an impressive win, and the scoring of those two guards was historic. Let’s look at five of the most insane stats, starting with history and moving to a pair of stats that suggest good things for the rest of the reason.