Cleveland Cavaliers silence doubters in monstrous win over Los Angeles Lakers

The Cleveland Cavaliers entered the 2024-25 season with plenty of detractors after a quiet offseason, but their 134-110 win over the Los Angeles Lakers should put those doubts to rest.

A 5-0 start to the season might not guarantee the next 77 games go Cleveland's way. The Cavaliers still have a lot to prove, but this hot start shows more than just an easy schedule. After outperforming the New York Knicks, the Cavs hosted LeBron James, Bronny James and the Lakers in another display of their potential. After drilling eight three-pointers in the first quarters, Cleveland established a sizeable advantage and continually silenced the Lakers' spirited comebacks to stay on top.

In the win, the Cavaliers not only played team basketball but showed the dominance the core four is capable of having together. After finding himself in foul trouble through three quarters, Evan Mobley powered past the Lakers and led the team with 25 points, followed by Donovan Mitchell's 25 points and Jarrett Allen's 20 points and 17 rebounds. Darius Garland scored 12 points alongside 10 assists.

Through five games, coach Kenny Atkinson has made the most of every Cavalier's talent and potential. After an offseason of headlines saying Garland would be gone by the season opener, this hot start has thankfully shown just how wrong that analysis was. When it appeared that Garland may be the driving force and wanted out, it was reasonable to say the Cavs owed Garland a new opportunity to shine. But, Garland has started his fifth season in All-Star fashion, looking stronger and fresher than last year. Mitchell has been the first one to say it, too, showing the chemistry between the star guard duo.

Mobley and Allen have had staggered minutes throughout most of the night thus far. Whichever big man takes the court has shown a more aggressive nature and helped facilitate the offense. Atkinson's rotational choices and lineup formations give the Cavs a balanced attack and showcase the untapped value the bench squad never realized under the last system.

In his homecoming, LeBron still got his. James led the game with 26 points, grabbed six rebounds and dished three assists. He made all seven free throws and ended the game 9-of-13 from the field. Anthony Davis also gave the Lakers a spirited performance, but the Cavs' team effort was too much and served the Lakers their second consecutive loss.

Once the Cavaliers broke through the Lakers and established their lead, they kept their poise to stop any comeback efforts.

Cavaliers controlled the perimeter

The Cavaliers fought through a major foul discrepancy, being called for 26 fouls compared to the Lakers' seven. Despite the disadvantage, Cleveland's offensive gameplan answered back every time the Lakers found an approach. In the second quarter, Los Angeles started to chip away at the Cavs' lead, bringing it down to 16 before Atkinson called a timeout.

Rather than panic, Atkinson reeled his team back in and ran fundamental plays to get an easy bucket and stop the team from rushing on offense. The Cavaliers were getting sloppy in an attempt to rebuild the lead quickly. Instead, Atkinson funneled the ball inside and got easy looks. From there, Cleveland extended to the three-point line with confidence. On the night, the Cavs sank 17 three-pointers on 41 attempts, good for a 41.5 percent conversion rate.

On the other end, Cleveland's swift closeouts forced the Lakers into a poor shooting performance, only hitting 21.4 of their 28 long-range attempts. With a 33-point advantage from deep, math was in the Cavaliers' favor.

Cleveland's two-way dominance on the arc is in stark contrast to last season in the best way possible. The Cavaliers rarely take a break on defense, and their defensive scheme suffocates hot shooters with everybody closing out and moving their feet. Statistically, the Cavaliers are one of the Association's best three-point shooting squads and are still a top defense.

With the victory, the Cleveland Cavaliers move up to a 5-0 record with an all-new look while maintaining an identical roster. The Cavs return to action on November 1 when they host the Orlando Magic in Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse at 7:00pm Eastern Time.