Cleveland Cavaliers: Top 5 moments from an exciting 2022
No. 4 Cavaliers moment of 2022 – OT victory in Boston
The Cleveland Cavaliers started the 2022-23 season strong, winning eight straight after losing their season opener. That stretch included a game against the reigning East champion Boston Celtics, in Boston, with Darius Garland sidelined. That should have been the recipe for a loss.
For much of the game it looked like the Cavs would valiantly try but come short, except Caris LeVert couldn’t miss down the stretch. Mitchell and LeVert each dropped 41 points, summoning echoes of LeBron and Kyrie Irving doing the same in Game 5 of the 2016 NBA Finals, pushing the game to overtime and then blowing the doors off in the extra period. It was a statement win that only looks better in hindsight; these Cavs are no fluke.
No. 5 Cavaliers moment of 2022 – Donovan Mitchell taking the torch from LeBron vs Lakers
Continuing that same winning streak, the Cavaliers traveled to Los Angeles at 7-1 for the season, ready to take on LeBron James and the Lakers. Mitchell was averaging more than 30 points per game and carrying the Cavs in Garland’s absence, but he was facing off against the best player in Cleveland franchise history and perhaps the greatest of all time.
Mitchell didn’t shy away from the moment, slicing up the Lakers’ defense en route to 33 points in a 114-100 victory. It was something of a dramatic moment, when Mitchell and the Cavs came into the King’s House and not only declared themselves the better team, but announced that they would no longer live in LeBron’s shadow: it was time for the Cavaliers to write their own destiny.
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Did we miss any moments that you remember from this past year? Did we get the right 5? 2023 should bring plenty more marquee moments for this team as they look to gain playoff experience and prove themselves one of the teams of the next decade.