LOS ANGELES, CA- The Cleveland Cavaliers (7-1) started their West Coast trip on Sunday afternoon at the Crypto.com Arena taking on Lebron James and the Los Angeles Lakers (2-6). It was the first look at the revamped Cavaliers with all-star Donovan Mitchell for the Lakers and their fans.
The Cavaliers got off to a slow start that saw the Lakers run out to a 26-14 lead with some up tempo basketball. Russell Westbrook gave the Lakers a spark coming off the bench for 12 points on 5/5 shooting. After trailing by as much as 12 the Cavaliers were able to cut the Laker lead to 36-30 at the end of the first quarter. Donovan Mitchell had 15 points in the quarter for Cleveland.
The Cavaliers looked like they were going to go on a run early in the 2nd quarter but the Lakers were able to fend them off and keep control going into the half. The Lakers continued to get easy points at the rim, a problem that plagued the CAVS all first half. After trailing by 8 at several points in the quarter they cut it back down to 6 at 64-58 at the half. The teams played an even quarter both putting up 28 points. Darius Garland kept the CAVS close with 13 second quarter points. Anthony Davis came up big in the 2nd for the Lakers with 8 points and 4 rebounds. Mitchell and Garland combined for 42 of the CAVS 58 first half points. CAVS coach J.B. Bickerstaff had some big adjustments facing him at halftime.
The Cavaliers were able to make the necessary adjustments and came out hot in the 3rd quarter with a 13-2 run to put them in the lead for the first time 71-66. After a tough first half, Cavalier big men Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley were able to get themselves going in the 3rd quarter. The Lakers were able to re-take the lead with just under 6:00 to play in the quarter on a running jumper by Lebron James. But the Cavaliers were able to close on the quarter 11-3 and take an 87-80 lead into the 4th quarter. The CAVS outscored the Lakers 29-16 in the 3rd.
Cleveland kept the foot on the gas pedal in the 4th quarter. A quick 7-0 run to start the 4th put the CAVS up 94-80 and prompted Lakers coach Darvin Ham to call a timeout. Cleveland maintained at least a 9 point lead for the rest of the quarter as they put the Lakers away for their 8th straight win. Jarrett Allen was huge in the 4th with 10 points and 7 rebounds. All 16 of his points for the game came in the 2nd half. After allowing the Lakers to score 64 points in the 1st half, the CAVS defense clamped down and held LA to only 36 in the second half as they outscored the Lakers 56-36.
The Cavaliers (8-1) will stay in Los Angeles as they will face the Clippers on Monday night as they look for their 9th straight win.
Player stats:
Donovan Mitchell: 10/17 FG, 33 pts, 5 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl
Darius Garland: 7/18 FG, 24 pts, 7 ast, 4 reb
Jarrett Allen: 5/13 FG, 16 pts, 11 reb, 2 blk, 2 stl
Caris Levert: 5/10 FG,12 pts, 4 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl
Kevin Love: 4/10 FG, 10 pts, 10 reb
Team stats:
FG: 37/84 (44%)
3 PT: 8/32 (25%)
FT: 32/26 (89%)
48 reb, 19 ast, 7 stl, 6 blk
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