Cavs erase 15-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat Pelicans 111-106
· Yahoo Sports
The Cleveland Cavaliers made things more interesting than they needed to be. They fell down by 15 early in the fourth quarter to a bad New Orleans Pelicans team before turning things around. Strong finishes from James Harden and Donovan Mitchell were enough to secure the 111-106 victory.
As has been a recent trend, the Cavs started the game well. They got out to a 13-point lead in the first quarter due to their offense. Cleveland went 4-9 from three and 8-11 on two-point shots. That was good enough for a 34-point first quarter.
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Once the offense slowed down, the defense couldn’t do enough to keep the lead.
The outside shot abandoned them in the second quarter as they went 2-12 from beyond the arc in that frame. That allowed their one-time 13-point advantage to turn into a three-point deficit at the break.
Things didn’t get better in the third quarter. The Cavs went 2-8 from three, which led to them only scoring 23 points in the third, and losing the quarter by nine.
The Pelicans pushed their advantage to 15 before the Cavs flipped the momentum.
Harden got things going with back-to-back triples. Mitchell followed it up with a triple of his own and two makes at the free-throw line. Then, Harden drained a three off a Mitchell feed after the Cavs grabbed two offensive rebounds on that possession.
That three capped off a 16-2 run that turned it from a 15-point game to a one-point game. Even though the Cavs didn’t take the lead, that sequence sapped the energy out of the building and the Pelicans as a group.
The Cavs kept their foot on the gas from there. Mitchell and Harden continued taking turns carving up the Pelicans’ defense as the run extended to 26-6.
The Cavs retook the lead on a Max Strus layup at the four-minute mark. They never gave it up from there.
Mitchell officially ended the game by converting an and-one layup with four seconds left to secure the five-point victory. In the end, the Cavs won the fourth quarter 35-18.
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Mitchell and Harden led the Cavs’ comeback, but both struggled through the first three quarters.
Mitchell compiled 15 points on as many shots in the first three quarters. He provided 12 in the fourth quarter. He finished with 27 points on 9-23 shooting with seven rebounds and three assists.
Harden was 3-9 from the field in the first three quarters. He scored 13 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter. Harden went 8-17 from the field while providing 10 assists and six rebounds in the win. He was a team-high +14.
Despite how good Harden and Mitchell were throughout the fourth quarter, Evan Mobley was the Cavs’ best player for the full 48 minutes.
Mobley made it difficult for a bigger New Orleans team to finish in the paint. On the other end, Mobley did a great job of using his athleticism to create easy looks in the paint. This led to him putting up 18 points on an efficient 8-10 shooting to go along with eight rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and a steal.
The Pelicans were led by 25 points from Zion Williamson on 10-14 shooting. Dejounte Murray added 12 points and 10 assists in the loss.
This wasn’t the prettiest game. The Cavs shouldn’t have been down double-digits to a bad Pelicans team late. At the same time, the Cavs showed how well the Harden and Mitchell backcourt can work in the clutch. Reps like this are important for a pairing that hasn’t been together long.
The Cavaliers will be back in action on Tuesday when they host the Orlando Magic for an 8 PM prime-time game.