The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Dallas Mavericks 127-117 behind an inspiring effort from their reserves.
The Cavs played on a skeleton crew tonight, with most of their usual rotation sidelined after last night’s delay kept them in Miami longer than expected. Donovan Mitchell, James Harden, Peyton Watson, and Jarrett Allen all sat out while Evan Mobley, Sam Merrill, and Nae’Qwan Tomlin were out with respective injuries.
The starting lineup tonight was Tyrese Proctor, Meleek Thomas, Jaylon Tyson, Mario
Hezonja, and Thomas Bryant.
The trio of Proctor, Thomas, and Tyson, who have labeled themselves as ‘the pitbulls’, set the tone early by being hyper-aggressive and active on both ends of the floor. They combined for 41 points in the first half, doing a little bit of everything to help build an 18-point lead going into the locker room.
Proctor finished the game with 24 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists. It was the strongest game of his career and proof of concept that Proctor is a foundational piece of this team’s future.
Rocket Arena, which began the night feeling scorned by the stars who sat out, gave a hefty round of applause for the young group that showed up tonight.
Bryant and Hezonja deserve credit as well for serving as the veteran leaders of a younger, more inexperienced lineup. Hezonja scored 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting while Bryant added 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting.
Kyrie Irving scored 34 points and was given a warm reception both when he was announced in the Mavericks’ starting lineup and after the Cavs played a video of his iconic Game 7 shot over the Warriors. It was nice to see Irving play basketball back in Cleveland.
The Cavs also saw support from two-way prospect Norchad Omier, who added 13 points and 8 rebounds by hustling around the court all night. It’s performances like this that made a double-digit victory possible despite being short-handed.
Overall, the Cavs’ youth showed that you can accomplish a lot by simply playing hard. The cohesion that was shown by this group tonight should be kept in mind moving forward.
Cleveland is back home on Monday against the Chicago Bulls.
