Nets
Cavaliers Hold Off Nets Rally as Paint and Rim Protection Decide It, 125-121
Cleveland beat Brooklyn 125-121 at Rocket Arena after leading by as many as 22. The Nets outscored the Cavaliers 41-29 in the fourth quarter but could not close the gap. The Cavaliers move to 1-1, while the Nets fall to 0-2.
By the Hoops Nightly Desk · updated 46 min ago01The story of the nightThe turning point: a big early lead, then a late scareCleveland set the game in the first half.
Cleveland set the game in the first half. The Cavaliers scored 35 in the first quarter and 33 in the second to lead 68-54 at the break. They stretched that to 96-80 after three quarters, and their biggest lead reached 22. Brooklyn never led by more than 4 and had only 4 lead changes to work with. The Nets then scored 41 in the fourth, against 29 for Cleveland, and made the final score close. The comeback started too late. Cleveland did enough in the early going to survive the run and finish 125-121.
02Top performersMichael Porter Jr.
Michael Porter Jr. led all scorers with 28 points for Brooklyn. He hit 10 of 18 shots, grabbed 9 rebounds and had 4 steals. Julius Randle added 23 points and Egor Demin had 22, going 5 of 10 from three. For Cleveland, Donovan Mitchell scored 22 on 7-of-15 shooting and made all 6 of his free throws. Jarrett Allen had 21 points on 7-of-8 shooting. Evan Mobley finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks. Jaylon Tyson gave the Cavaliers 15 points off the bench.
03Where it was won: the paint and the glass of the rimCleveland scored 46 points in the paint, against 30 for Brooklyn.
Cleveland scored 46 points in the paint, against 30 for Brooklyn. The Cavaliers shot 40 of 79 (50.6%), while the Nets shot 39 of 98 (39.8%). Cleveland also blocked 10 shots to Brooklyn's 1. The Nets leaned on the three-point line, making 20 of 49, and won the fast-break count 16-9. They also forced 23 Cleveland turnovers and scored 19 points off them. It was not enough. The Cavaliers made 29 of 38 free throws and had 31 assists, and their efficient scoring inside outweighed Brooklyn's volume from deep.
04Turnovers and the benchNeither team took care of the ball.
Neither team took care of the ball. Cleveland turned it over 23 times and Brooklyn 18, and the Cavaliers turned Brooklyn's mistakes into 23 points. The Nets had 11 steals, led by Porter's 4. Cleveland's bench outscored Brooklyn's 39-35. Tyson led that group with 15, Mario Hezonja added 9 and Sam Merrill had 7. For Brooklyn, Chaney Johnson scored 10 and Mikel Brown Jr. had 8. James Harden had a rough shooting night at 1 of 8 from the field, but he made 9 of 11 free throws and added 8 rebounds and 7 assists.
05What it means for each teamCleveland improves to 1-1 and sits 8th in the East, with a win in its last game.
Cleveland improves to 1-1 and sits 8th in the East, with a win in its last game. The Cavaliers got a balanced night from their starters and a lead big enough to survive Brooklyn's fourth-quarter push. The turnover count is the thing to fix. Brooklyn drops to 0-2 and is 13th in the East, with two straight losses. The Nets showed they can score in bunches, but they gave up too much inside and fell behind early. Their late run came with the game already largely decided.
B+
A-
B+
B