The Cleveland Cavaliers appear to have a solution for every problem this season. Even on the nights when they’re missing a star player, the Cavaliers remain unstoppable.
Next up for Cleveland is a matchup on Sunday afternoon against the visiting Orlando Magic, who have split the first four games of their five-game road trip.
The NBA-best Cavaliers improved to 56-10 after posting a franchise-record 16th straight win with a 133-124 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday.
Evan Mobley collected 22 points and 11 rebounds to lead Cleveland, which won for the 20th time in its last 21 games. Darius Garland added 20 points and nine assists.
The Cavaliers improved to a league-best 26-6 on the road despite playing without All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell, who has missed the last two games with left groin soreness.
“We’re not letting go of the rope — mentally or physically,” Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson said after the win over Memphis. “Against this team, better be prepared for the physical battle and we met that. We were the more aggressive team. A lot of teams when you lose your top guy there’s a big drop-off. For us, there’s very little drop-off.”
Mitchell is listed as day-to-day for the Cavaliers, who had seven players score in double figures against the Grizzlies. Forward De’Andre Hunter again provided a boost off the bench, finishing with 18 points and five rebounds.
Cleveland shot 50.0 percent from the field in the victory and trailed for less than a minute.
“Guys were locked in — they’re playing with joy,” Atkinson said. “We’re obviously talented, we’re very skilled, we’re connected and we play with enthusiasm. But with that, you’ve got to come out with force and focus. And we did all of the above. It was a stellar performance.”
Cleveland is off to its best 66-game start in franchise history and will look for a season sweep of Orlando after winning 120-109 on Nov. 1 and 122-82 on Feb. 25.
The Magic (31-37) hold the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference and are monitoring the status of guard Cole Anthony, who has missed the last two games due to a left big toe strain. He is listed as day-to-day.
Orlando lost 118-111 to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday despite the efforts of forward Paolo Banchero, who had 43 points and 10 rebounds.
Cory Joseph made his third start of the season and contributed eight points, three assists and three rebounds in 28 minutes.
“We just came up short,” Banchero said. “We put up a good fight, made some good runs throughout the game and gave ourselves a chance to win. They just made more plays than we did.”
Banchero has scored at least 20 points in nine straight games for the Magic, who received a spark on Friday from reserve forward Caleb Houstan.
Houston received praise from Orlando coach Jamahl Mosley after scoring a season-high 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting from 3-point range.
“I say this with no hesitation. He might be one of the hardest workers I’ve seen,” Mosley said. “This kid is in early, stays late, comes back, works on his shot. He is determined. He is focused. He’s a pro. He stays ready no matter if his number is called for two minutes or 22 minutes.”
–Field Level Media
