The Cleveland Cavaliers looked more like themselves for at least one quarter on Friday. They outscored the San Antonio Spurs 44-19 in the third. Those 12 dominant minutes were enough to lead them to a much-needed
130-116 victory over San Antonio.
Jaylon Tyson led the way for the Cavs. He nearly outscored the Spurs by himself (16 to 19) in the third quarter. He was disruptive on defense, forceful moving off the ball, and simply got to where he wanted with the ball in his hands. This led to an impressive showing as he finished with 24 points on 11-15 shooting to go along with six rebounds and two assists.
Tyson has continued to take meaningful steps forward since the start of the season. This performance showed just how good an all-around player he can be.
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This game was also a meaningful step forward for the offense. The shot selection has been out of balance much of the season. That reached a boiling point last game against the Portland Trail Blazers when they took 52 threes and attempted just 38 shots in the paint.
This game was the inverse.
The Cavs took a season-low 26 three-point attempts. Their previous low before tonight was 35. They instead got to the basket early and often as they went 31-43 inside the restricted area (72.1%). This led to outscoring the Spurs 80-44 in the paint.
Donovan Mitchell had another strong performance. He poured in a team-high 27 points on 9-17 shooting to go along with eight assists and three steals.
Evan Mobley did a good job of attacking a shorthanded Spurs front line that was missing Victor Wembanyama and Luke Kornet. Mobley came into this game questionable with an illness. He ended the evening with 17 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, and two blocks.
Devin Vassell scored a game-high 28 points on 8-16 shooting. De’Aaron Fox provided 25 points and nine assists in the loss.
The Cavs were once again shorthanded. They were without Darius Garland (injury management), Sam Merrill (hand), Jarrett Allen (finger), Max Strus (foot), and Tyrese Proctor (personal).
The win brings the Cavs to 14-10 on the season. They’ll host the short-handed Golden State Warriors on Saturday.
