The Cleveland Cavaliers looked like themselves again for one of the first times this season. They completely dominated the Philadelphia 76ers en route to an easy 132-121 win.
Darius Garland returned to
an NBA floor for the first time since last season’s playoffs. He missed the first seven games with a toe injury and very much looked like someone still trying to find his rhythm. Garland wasn’t bad by any stretch, he just wasn’t as sharp as normal as he finished with eight points on 3-11 shooting to go along with four assists.
That said, Garland’s return awakened something within the offense. The ball was moving like we haven’t seen all season, and the Cavs were finally able to get actions going towards the rim and not just endlessly swinging around the perimeter.
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This was seen in the team’s three-point numbers as they went 18-44 (40.9%) from beyond the arc. It was the first time they shot 40% or better from three since their Oct. 24 win over the Brooklyn Nets.
Despite how good the three-point shooting was, the bigs were the biggest beneficiaries of Garland’s return. Both Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley were able to get baskets going towards the rim in a way they haven’t been able to easily generate with Garland out of the lineup. This resulted in 24 points and 10 rebounds for Allen and 23 points and five rebounds for Mobley.
Not to bury the lede, but Donovan Mitchell did drop his first 40-ball of the year as he finished with 46 points. He efficiently scored at all three levels as he went 6-6 at the rim, 3-4 from the midrange, and 6-11 from beyond the arc. This was on top of knocking down all 10 of his free-throw attempts.
It was about as impressive a scoring performance as you’re going to see from Mitchell. It was also accompanied by a season high eight assists.
The Sixers fought hard, but they lost focus for stretches. They lost this game by giving up a 17-3 run to start the game and completely letting go of the rope in the third quarter as they were outscored by the Cavs in that frame 37-20. Philadelphia very much looked like a team on the second leg of a road back-to-back.
Tyrese Maxey and Quentin Grimes led the 76ers with 27 points each. Maxey also contributed nine assists and seven boards. Andre Drummond provided 13 points and 13 rebounds off the bench.
The Cavaliers travel to the nation’s capital as they take on the Washington Wizards on Friday evening.
