Five takeaways from Cavs win over Clips

Cavs took care of business.

To cap off their brutal month of March, one in which they played 17 games in 30 days, the Cleveland Cavaliers wanted to end things on a high note.

They did just that.

The Cavs distanced themselves with a 37-point third quarter, including 15 points in the frame from Evan Mobley, and beat the visiting Los Angeles Clippers by a score of 127-122

Donovan Mitchell had a sparkling game, finishing with 24 points, 12 rebounds, and seven assists. Jarrett Allen, after playing just 19 minutes against Detroit two days earlier, had an excellent game with 25 points (11-12 shooting) and 12 rebounds. It was a balanced attack from Cleveland, who flashed their offense in a way that they have not done in recent games. The ball moved consistently and they made smart cuts to find openings in the defense, bringing a necessary level of energy apt for playoff basketball.

Los Angeles was playing without star forward Kawhi Leonard, but the Clippers got a big game from Norman Powell (34 points) to offset the loss. James Harden finished with 24 points (7-18 shooting, five turnovers), though he was defended well by Max Strus and Dean Wade, who were picking him full court at times. Ivica Zubac, who wreaked havoc on the Cavs just under two weeks ago, had a much more modest 14 points and 13 rebounds.

Donovan Mitchell is back

Whether it was the groin injury, an off month, or something else, Sunday’s game showed that Mitchell is himself again. He was driving into the lane with unabashed confidence, pulling up from deep, and looked extremely comfortable while also not forcing his shot.

Mitchell received some criticism for his erratic play this past month, but hopefully this game put those fears to rest. In reality, Mitchell has put together several good games, just not in big or important wins. Today’s game was just that.

“I would argue, probably for me, his best overall game,” Kenny Atkinson said about Mitchell after the game. “He’s really evolved in terms of getting other people involved and playmaking. Not just as a scorer.”

Evan Mobley is the playoff x-factor

The Cavs outscored the Clippers by 13 points in the third quarter largely due to Mobley, who asserted himself on both sides of the ball. The All-Star forward had some key three-pointers and big-time blocks that seemed to come at the opportune time.

This was also a redemption game for Mobley, who played a part in allowing Zubac to dominate the paint against the Cavs on March 18th. Zubac was still effective today, but not to the extent he was earlier in the month.

“Evan being able to stretch the floor like that, it changes everything,” Atkinson said after the game. “It changes the geography of the court, it changes our spacing. He got six threes up tonight and it really helped us.”

Zubac has been very good this season, and especially of late. Mobley played better today and is a huge reason why the Cavs won. Bigger picture, it was good to see Mobley come out with some aggressiveness against a bigger matchup and dominate on both ends. That will prove essential come playoff time.

Bottling up James Harden

The stat won’t show it, but the Cavs overall did a pretty good job on Harden. Max Strus and Dean Wade were in his grill most of the time, forcing him to give up the ball or take a tough shot. Harden still got his points and assists, but it wasn’t the total takeover that was looming with Leonard not playing.

The notorious free-throw magnet only attempted six of them tonight,

Forcing the ball out of Harden’s hands was the way to beat the Clippers, and the Cavs managed to do that. The byproduct was, however, a big game for Powell. But that’s the tradeoff you have to make.

Jarrett Allen redemption

After playing just 19 minutes against Detroit, Jarrett Allen asserted himself to the tune of a 25-point double-double. But he was also very active on defense with two athletic steals, intercepting passing lanes that bigs normally are not able to get to. His presence was felt, and the guards were seeking out ways to get him the ball in the paint. It paid off.

Allen gets a lot of flak when he has a bad game, but he doesn’t get the same on the other end when he has a really good one. Tonight was a really good one, especially in the second half.

Coach of the Year does not matter to Kenny

When asked how much winning Coach of the Year matters to him, Atkinson had a flat answer:

“Zero.”