Donovan Mitchell scored 17 points and James Harden had 16 points and nine assists as the Cleveland Cavaliers dominated the visiting Brooklyn Nets 112-84 on Thursday night, extending their winning streak to six.
Jarrett Allen posted 15 points and 10 rebounds for Cleveland, which led from wire to wire for the second straight game and has won 11 of its last 12. Evan Mobley had 10 points and nine rebounds in his return from a seven-game absence with a left calf strain.
The Cavaliers have won five straight at home and are 4-0 with trade-deadline acquisition Harden in the lineup. Dennis Schroder made two free throws late in the third quarter to put Cleveland up 102-59, its largest lead of the season.
Michael Porter Jr. scored 14 points and Ochai Agbaji had 13 points off the bench for Brooklyn, which shot 34.5% from the field. Danny Wolf collected 11 points, six rebounds and seven assists, and fellow rookie Egor Demin had 10 points.
The Nets have split their last four contests, but have lost 20 of 25 games since Dec. 29.
None of the Cavaliers’ starters played in the fourth quarter. Cleveland outscored the Nets by 37 points during Mitchell’s 21 minutes of action and was a plus-31 in Allen’s 24 minutes.
Schroder had 12 points and Dean Wade and Jaylon Tyson each added 11, giving the Cavaliers seven players with double-digit scoring for the fifth time this season. Cleveland outrebounded the Nets 56-36.
Harden scored 11 points in the second quarter and Keon Ellis had seven in eight minutes, allowing Cleveland to carry a 70-48 lead into halftime. Porter had 14 points on 5-of-10 field goal shooting.
Allen had 10 points and Mitchell added six in the first as the Cavaliers jumped ahead 34-16. Brooklyn called its first timeout just 41 seconds in with Cleveland up 4-0.
Nets starting center Nic Claxton did not travel with the team after spraining his right ankle in practice Wednesday. Coach Jordi Fernandez said Claxton will “probably join us at some point” on the three-game road trip that runs through Sunday.
–Field Level Media
