Cleveland Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson believes his team still has a lot to prove over the final 23 games of the regular season.
At 49-10, Cleveland holds the league’s best record and is coming off a stunning comeback victory against the defending NBA champions. None of that matters to Atkinson, however, as the Cavaliers brace for a meeting with the visiting Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday afternoon.
Cleveland was on the wrong end of a game-opening 25-3 run against the Boston Celtics on Friday night before getting its deficit down to 12 by the end of the first quarter and 10 by halftime. The Cavaliers dominated the second half to escape Boston with a 123-116 win.
Donovan Mitchell led Cleveland with 41 points while Darius Garland added 20 and Evan Mobley paired 17 points with 12 rebounds.
Atkinson realizes the Cavaliers can’t get comfortable, though. The Celtics were playing without Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday.
“Like I said before the game, the more you play these guys or these elite teams, you get great feedback on what works, what doesn’t work, what could possibly work if you play them in the playoffs,” Atkinson said. “But, I don’t know, it doesn’t feel like this game is like, ‘Wow we’re over the mountaintop.’ By no means.
“… This gives us a little more confidence, but there’s context around that. We know they’re missing two guys. Humble in victory, that’s for sure.”
Portland also has plenty of momentum thanks to a four-game winning streak that includes a 121-102 drubbing of the Brooklyn Nets on Friday. Shaedon Sharpe (25 points) was one of seven Trail Blazers scorers in double figures. Reserve Dalano Banton went for 23 points and eight boards, Toumani Camara supplied 19 points and Anfernee Simons netted 14 points.
“I liked it all,” Portland coach Chauncey Billups said. “I love the way we started the game. We knew that this team had very similar traits. They like to put a lot of pressure on you. They like to be very disruptive. … I thought our guys really, really executed, and did an awesome job of being patient when they picked up their pressure.”
Thanks in part to its strong stretch of play, Portland is still in the mix for a play-in tournament spot. The Trail Blazers sit in 12th in the Western Conference, just four games back of the 10th-place Sacramento Kings.
Sharpe has given Portland a boost by averaging 18.6 points on 47.8-percent shooting over his past nine games. He had one of the most impressive dunks of the season on Wednesday, throwing down a one-handed slam over Justin Champagnie in a 129-121 victory over the Washington Wizards.
“His offense was incredible,” Billups said of Sharpe and his performance against Washington. “I mean it really was. On all three levels he was incredible the entire time. I thought the defense was high-level as well. I really did. And his rebounding, he got some really, really big rebounds for us.”
Sunday marks the first meeting of the season between the Trail Blazers and Cavaliers. They meet again March 25 at Portland.
–Field Level Media
