On Sunday afternoon, the Cleveland Cavaliers began the West Coast part of their road trip with a matinee game against the struggling Los Angeles Lakers.
However, the Cavaliers, not the Lakers, struggled in the opening quarter. Cleveland would shoot just 8-21 (38%), while Los Angeles shot 15-24 (63%) in the first 12 minutes.
The silver lining for Cleveland was that they were a perfect 11-11 from the free throw line in the first quarter, and they only trailed by six points.
Cleveland again had a subpar shooting percentage in the 2nd quarter (38%) but cashed in on 10-12 from the foul line, limiting Los Angeles to 45% shooting. Going into the half, Cleveland appeared fortunate to only trail by six points.
The message from head coach J.B. Bickerstaff resonated with the Cavaliers as they came out in the 2nd half looking like a different team, especially on the defensive end of the floor. Cleveland held LA to 8-21 (38%) in the 3rd quarter, only allowing 16 points. On the offensive end of the floor, the Cavaliers had a balanced scoring attack and outscored the Lakers by 13 points.
Cleveland’s stellar defensive effort carried over into the 4th quarter as they would hold LA to just 7-20 (35%) shooting and 20 points. Overall for the 2nd half, the Cavaliers defense stifled the Lakers as they were just 15-41 (37%) in the 2nd half, and the Cavaliers defense forced eight second-half turnovers.
On the other hand, the Cavs offense in the final 24 minutes was much more effective, shooting 50% and Jarrett Allen, who missed much of the first half with foul trouble, led all Cleveland players with 16 second half points.
Like several other Cavalier wins this early season, this win over the Lakers was primarily due to their second half improvements after struggling early on in the game. Cleveland has a quick turnaround as they will stay in Los Angeles and face the Clippers on Monday, with both teams on the second leg of a back-to-back.
As for the star of this game, it goes to more than one player.
Cavaliers studs in their win at the Lakers: Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland
After both Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell missed Friday night’s game in Detroit, they made their presence felt on Sunday afternoon in LA.
This was Garland’s third game of the season after missing time due to an eye injury, and that last absence was because of a knee sprain, which was seemingly minor, though. Regardless, he responded in a big way against the Lakers, especially in the first half. With Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen getting into foul trouble in the opening half, the Cavaliers turned to their All-Star backcourt for the offense.
The backcourt did respond as Garland scored 21 points in the first half, which helped keep Cleveland in the ball game. While Garland cooled off in the second half with just three points, his early scoring was crucial for the Cavaliers.
While Garland looked to score in the first half, he dished out five assists in the second half, showing he can get his teammates involved just as well as he can get offense for himself.
As for Mitchell, his Cavalier career has gotten off to an unbelievable start. Mitchell, who also had 21 points in the first half, does a great job directing the offense and knowing when to attack and when to be a facilitator.
He and Garland seemingly sensed the Cavaliers needed them to focus on scoring, and they responded well.
Through just a few games together, Mitchell and Garland have displayed why they will be such a tough tandem to defend. Both players can score the ball from all three levels, and they also can get their teammates involved as they see the court incredibly well.
While the Cavaliers were impressive in their second-half comeback win, not everyone could get into a rhythm for the Wine and Gold.
Cavs dud from Lakers win: Evan Mobley
Without Cleveland’s starting backcourt available on Friday night, Evan Mobley made quite the impact in the Cavaliers’ beatdown of the Pistons, as he scored 11 points, grabbed eight rebounds, and blocked eight shots.
Mobley could not get into much of a rhythm in this game against the Lakers due to the first-half foul trouble mentioned earlier. Mobley picked up his 3rd foul early in the 2nd quarter and sat the rest of the quarter.
He finished the first half scoreless and attempted just four shots. In the second half, Mobley did a much better job at contesting without fouling, but he was not able to find much success on the offensive end.
Mobley scored just five points for the game but grabbed seven rebounds and contested 16 shots. For comparison, the entire Lakers team contested a total of 18 shots.
So while Mobley did not make a huge impact on offense, he was still able to make an impact on the game. The early foul trouble just appeared to throw him off his offensive game.
Overall, the Cavaliers started their mostly-West Coast road trip out well, and while their backcourt led them, at least offensively, this was yet another team win for the Wine and Gold.