Behind 33 points from Donovan Mitchell and a dominant fourth quarter, the Cleveland Cavaliers scored their eighth consecutive win with a 114-100 defeat of the host Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.
Cleveland trailed throughout the first half on the second installment of a five-game road swing. But after a sluggish start, the Cavaliers settled in and took control in the second half.
Los Angeles held an 80-77 lead with less than four minutes to go in the third quarter. Cedi Osman knocked down a game-tying 3-pointer at the 3:28 mark, and Cleveland never trailed again.
The Cavaliers scored the final 10 points of the period, then the first seven to open the fourth for a decisive 17-0 run. Mitchell’s and-one play to open the fourth quarter pushed the lead to 10 points, and it never dipped to single-digits again.
Mitchell’s backcourt mate, Darius Garland, added 24 points, while Jarrett Allen scored 16 with a team-high 11 rebounds for a double-double. The trio shot a combined 25-of-26 from the free-throw line, with Mitchell’s 12-of-13 performance accounting for the sole miss.
Cleveland went 32-of-36 at the charity stripe as a team, compared to a dismal 12-of-21 for Los Angeles.
The Lakers also shot 8-of-27 from 3-point range. LeBron James, who was a combined 0-of-12 from beyond the arc in Los Angeles’ previous two games, finally connected on one Sunday but was 1-of-4 from deep.
James scored a team-high 27 points.
Anthony Davis added 19 points and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds, while Russell Westbrook came off the bench to chip in 19 points and dish 10 assists. Westbrook shot 3-of-5 from 3-point range.
Cleveland’s Kevin Love was responsible for the fourth different double-double of the day, posting 10 points and 10 rebounds off the bench. Osman added another nine points in reserve duty as the Cavaliers continued their early-season roll.
–Field Level Media