Cavaliers rally from 18-point deficit, clinch Central Division with 109-104 win over Nets

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The Cleveland Cavaliers didn’t have Donovan Mitchell, De’Andre Hunter or Ty Jerome on Tuesday night, yet still rallied from an 18-point third quarter deficit to defeat the Brooklyn Nets, 109-104.

Cleveland won its 15th consecutive game, the second time this season that the Cavaliers have strung together that many wins in a row. The Cavs also became the first NBA team this season to win their division, clinching the Central Division with 17 games remaining before the playoffs.

“Division champions is pretty cool,” Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson said after the game, via Cleveland.com. “I know us old school guys, we like that. Maybe not so much for the new generation, but that means something. We’ll put a banner up in our practice facility, [general manager] Koby [Altman] just told me, so that’s pretty cool.”

“But 15 in a row,” he added, “and to do it at this juncture of the season with fatigue and teams like Brooklyn coming here playing super-hard and people trying to knock us off. It’s really quite an accomplishment.”

At 55-10, Cleveland has also compiled the eighth-best start in NBA history.

Darius Garland came through in the clutch to secure Cleveland’s 18-PT comeback and 15th straight win!

🏀 18 PTS in 4Q (30 for the game)
🏀 2 STL in 4Q (4 for the game)
🏀 8 AST pic.twitter.com/xvBq6Mq5rk

— NBA (@NBA) March 12, 2025

The Nets took a 71-53 lead at 9:53 of the third quarter on a 3-pointer by Ziaire Williams. But the Cavs cut the deficit to 86-78 by the end of the frame, fueled by seven points from Jarrett Allen and Craig Porter Jr. banking in a 3 from nearly 3/4-court at the buzzer.

Darius Garland took control in the fourth, scoring eight points to lift Cleveland to a 94-94 tie with 7:35 remaining in regulation. One minute later, Isaac Okoro put Cleveland on top with a drive to the basket and they stayed ahead for the rest of the game.

Tuesday’s comeback was the fifth time that the Cavs have rallied after trailing by 15 points or more and the 12th time they’ve won after a double-digit deficit this season.

Garland finished with 30 points — 18 of them in the fourth quarter — with eight assists and…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/cavaliers-rally-from-18-point-deficit-clinch-central-division-with-109-104-win-over-nets-125915904.html

Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2025-03-12 12:59:00

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