It was a game of runs in the Cleveland Cavaliers 121-108 victory over the New York Knicks on Sunday night and it now has the Cavs standing at a 5-1 record on the early season. It’s not that basketball games aren’t about runs, because that’s what the game comes down to many times. But it’s the fact that Cleveland had such a dominating fourth quarter run in this latest win that has Cavs fans in a tizzy today.
One of the biggest reasons for the excitement was from a statistic that came out after the game, which is now a new NBA record. The Cavs had Donovan Mitchell, Kevin Love, and Dean Wade combine to hit 22 three-pointers. There’s never been a trio of players to accomplish this in NBA history, which is amazing. Both Mitchell and Love had eight three-pointers and Wade added six of them.
In the Cavaliers' win today, Donovan Mitchell and Kevin Love each made 8 threes, and Dean Wade chipped in with 6 of his own.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 31, 2022
Their 22 combined 3-pointers are the most by a trio of teammates in a game in NBA history. pic.twitter.com/xzJfORmsW0
Early in the game both Mitchell and Wade were single-handedly keeping the Cavaliers rolling early as the Wine and Gold ran out to a 30-20 lead. Wade, who’s been averaging around 10 points prior to this game on the young season, had that after only one quarter. He finished with a career-high 22 points and will continue to be that starter until Darius Garland can return.
Even with his return, there has to be some discussion on if Wade should remain in the starting lineup. Not only is he an excellent shooter for a 6-foot-9 forward, but his defense continues to be tremendous. Granted, it’s not reportedly likely Wade will be in that role when Garland is back, however, it’s apparent that he’s a player really finding his rhythm.
Sometimes, there are players on a team that may not seem like they are contributing that much because they don’t light up the statistical box score, and that is Wade in this case, either way. When he’s on the court, the Cavs are a much better team all around. Now, his offensive game and knockdown three pointers are becoming more regular and consistent. One can see the growing confidence for him.
Meanwhile, the other two players in this amazing new NBA record set by the Cavaliers are just continuing to lead by example.
Mitchell is playing some of the best basketball of his career, and he’s contributed in a number of ways for his new team. He’s averaging over 30 points a game and has been scoring closer to 40 points regularly. Love hasn’t had the best start to his season, but in this latest win, he reminded us all of his greatness in key moments.
He’s a smart, veteran player who picks his moments wisely and he finished with a flurry of made baskets in this latest win. He finished with 29 points on the night. He’s talked about as being the old man on the team these days and that seems to appeal to his personality, too.
This impressive start to the season will have its moments of ups and downs as the season progresses for the Cavaliers. They will be hitting the road for a big mostly West Coast road trip when they go to Los Angeles to face LeBron James and the Lakers next Sunday. The fact that James’ new team is struggling so much, and the new young Cavs are surging, makes for a great early storyline in the NBA.
If these three players can come close to duplicating what they just did, than this group of Cavs will keep on winning a ton this season. And the fact that we didn’t mention Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley or Darius Garland in this story also goes to show everyone just how talented and deep this team is.