The Cleveland Cavaliers were without Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, and Darius Garland for their rematch against the Miami Heat on Wednesday, but Jarrett Allen and the team's depth shone through in an impressive 130-116 victory down in South Beach.
“Just gives confidence to everybody in the group,” Allen said postgame. “A lot of the guys that played tonight don't usually get that high of minutes like they did tonight.”
“I think it shows us that we have depth and it's a next-man-up mentality,” added De'Andre Hunter, who had 21 points and six rebounds in an efficient evening. “That's something that we preach, and guys put in work, so I trust everyone on this team to make plays and play defense.”
Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson called the group's effort “phenomenal,” noting that 11 players participated and all 11 contributed. How Cleveland stuck with it through the missed shots in the first half and a double-digit deficit midway through the third quarter may have been the most encouraging part of the effort. The Cavs rallied and took over in the fourth quarter once they started getting stops, and they continued to dump the ball inside.
Allen led the way with 30 points and 10 rebounds, utilizing flawless footwork and his roll acumen perfectly.
Cleveland's guards, Craig Porter Jr. and Lonzo Ball, ran the show, making for a strong pairing in the screen game as they handled the ball. Each was constantly looking for Allen near the basket, whether it was on the move or in a standstill post-up against a mismatch, combining for eight assists to the big man.
“I loved how we posted 'em,” Atkinson said. “They went small, and that's where Zo really comes into play. Zo understands what's happening out there. He just kept feeding J.A. and just kept telling him to go down there. That was contagious. We just kept getting the ball to J.A. deep in the post. That was a big part of the win. That prevents them from going small. They had to go back with [Kel'el] Ware to get bigger.”
“It's what I've been brought up to do, sealing the paint,” Allen said. “That's what I've been working on my whole life. It was good to see older, traditional basketball come back into play, and people have to make adjustments off of that.”
Porter went a perfect 6-of-6 in the first half with 15 points to go with five assists, three rebounds, three blocks, and two steals. His energy and production kept Cleveland in the battle as Miami couldn't put the wine and gold away early, as it had tried. Allen and Hunter saw Porter do it all.
“Craig was everywhere,” Allen said.
“Not just the scoring, the whole thing,” Atkinson added. “The defense. You can see on the stats, but he had 11 deflections too, three blocks, four steals. It was a heroic, heroic performance. We needed it. He did all the role player things, but to add 19 points, 3-for-3 from three. It's just a great performance. I'm really happy for him because he's put in a lot of work.”
He's the first Cavs player to put up 19 points, nine assists, four blocks, and three steals in franchise history. Porter is also only the fourth point guard in the history of the NBA to record four rejections.
The Cavs' depth comes through
Porter, two-way forward Nae'Qwan Tomlin, and rookie Tyrese Proctor ended up having Cleveland's three highest plus-minus numbers in the win.
“It gives everyone energy,” Hunter said. “Even ‘Qwan, even Luke [Travers] when they came in, they gave us big minutes. Just that tenacity and that energy that they played with is just contagious. It goes to the whole team.”
Atkinson said it's a sign of a great program to be able to rely on players who are developing the right way.
“You have young guys that haven't been playing and all of a sudden they can come and get an NBA win,” Atkinson said. “We all know the cost of an NBA win. It's hard to get a win. Those guys, I just kept thinking back to all the work they did this summer, especially Nae'Qwan, Luke Travers. You can feel their maturity. You can feel them coming as NBA players.
“Tyrese is just talented as heck. He handles. He can shoot. He's got gumption. He's got swag. I think he's gonna play in this league a long time. He's so skilled. Tough kid. He was great for us tonight.”
Thomas Bryant also brought a boatload of momentum to the team, recording a block and a dunk in his first sequence of the game. He brought down seven big rebounds and was a force in the paint defensively. Atkinson referred to him as “Mr. Energy.”
“He spends so much energy cheering, I'm worried if he has enough for the court,” Atkinson quipped. “His spirit is always super high and his energy is super high. I just give our front office credit. He's your perfect, I don't know what we want to call him, fourth big? Perfect. He fits perfect with what we want to do. He got us going a little bit, and then had good minutes in the second half too.”
A win like this in Miami gets rid of the sour taste from Monday's finish, and it should be a boost going into Thursday's home matchup against the Toronto Raptors.
Mitchell and Mobley should be back in action for that, but we'll see on Garland and Jaylon Tyson's status.
