Awesome win, one of the three best of the season, IMO, right up there with the road wins over Philly and Milwaukee. The defense continues to shine. The Clips were averaging 122 points per game in January and the Cavs held them to 108. The offense was not great, but good enough. Too many missed 3's that were uncontested.
Mitchell was phenomenal with 28 points and 12 assists. Okoro helped give the Cavs an 8-point halftime lead with 17 points. Wade was a +20 in 26 minutes off the bench. Allen had 20 and 17. Niang and LeVert were +10 and +8. Our bench was the difference.
Mobley looked better than I expected with 10 points and 9 rebounds in 21 minutes, going 5-for-7. Everybody played well.
JBB had a brilliant substitution with 1:34 to go and the Cavs clinging to a 4-point lead but the Clippers making a run. He put in Niang for Okoro. Second possession Niang drives baseline, beating Kawhi Leonard, and gives Allen a perfect pass for the bucket, giving the Cavs an insurmountable 8-point lead with 37 seconds left.
The Cavs had a 12-point lead with 6:40 to go that the Clippers cut to 4 with 1:34 remaining. It looked like the Cavs were choking, but Mitchell made a huge jumper as the clock expired to push the lead to 6, then Powell just missed a 3 and Allen dug out the rebound.
In the last week the Cavs beat Orlando on the road, split with Milwaukee on the road, and beat the Clippers. Four tough games in a row and they went 3-1. Awesome. They have proven they can play with anyone, and usually beat them. I know the Clippers were playing their third game in four days, all on the road. We won't beat them in LA. But this was still a signature win and the Cavs have to be bursting with confidence right now.