Diving deeper into Cavs blowout win over 76ers: Cleveland plays their most complete game of season

CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Cavaliers avenged their opening-night collapse by thoroughly outplaying the Philadelphia 76ers for 48 minutes, leading to a 119-95 victory.

Three stars of the game

First star: Donovan Mitchell

23 points, 8 assists, 7 rebounds

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The Cavs need Mitchell to look to get teammates involved, but that can’t come at the expense of his aggressiveness. The start to this game was the prime example of the balance you want to see from Mitchell.

Mitchell got the scoring going with two layups attacking the basket and then a running jumper in transition in the first minute and a half of the game. That opened up avenues for him to find his teammates, which he did during the rest of the first quarter, resulting in three assists.

That opening set the tempo for what was a complete game from Mitchell. He was the undisputed best player on the court. It’s no surprise the Cavs won the minutes he played by 28.

“He feels the moment, he knows we needed this win,” head coach Kenny Atkinson said. “He made some great passes too. He was very aggressive tonight.”

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Second star: Evan Mobley

22 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block

Mobley filled in admirably for Jarrett Allen at center. He controlled the paint on both ends and showed his range as a shooter, going 3-for-4 from deep. Comfortably hitting threes like he has been this season opens up Cleveland’s entire offense and allows him to easily fit at the four and the five. This was the ideal version of Mobley.

“He’s really playing great basketball,” Atkinson said.

Third star: Mario Hezonja

15 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal

The Cavs needed rebounding and a scoring punch from the bench considering who was out of the lineup. Hezonja provided both. He took advantage of mismatches inside, going 4-for-4 on shots inside the arc.

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Hezonja is slowly becoming an integral part of this team. His presence has become invaluable over the first nine games.

Duds of the game

LeBron James

8 points on 3-of-12 shooting, 7 rebounds, 6 turnovers

You could make a convincing argument that the Cavs would be at the top of the conference if James chose them…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/diving-deeper-cavs-blowout-win-055714986.html

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Publish date : 2026-11-07 05:57:00

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