Wine and Gold Hang on for the 106-102 Victory

*** After dropping the Nets on Sunday to tip off the month of March, the Cavaliers come home for three straight games stretched over a six-day span. On Tuesday night, it’s a rematch with the league-leading Pistons, who dropped Cleveland in an overtime thriller on Friday night. From there, it’s a four-day break before a big back-to-back, welcoming the Celtics to town on Sunday afternoon followed by showdown with the Sixers the following night. After the brief homestand, it’s a two-game trip with stops in Orlando and Dallas on the docket.

*** In the final game of what proved to be a laborious three-game trip, the young Nets made Cleveland grind it out on Sunday afternoon in Brooklyn. And, while it wasn’t pretty, that’s exactly what the Wine and Gold did – hanging on for the 106-102 victory to snap a brief two-game skid.

The Cavs overcame a sluggish first half and looked like they were ready to pull away late from the scrappy Nets – taking a nine-point lead with just over three minutes to play – but Brooklyn continued to claw its way back, getting to within a point with under 10 seconds remaining. 

But clutch free throws by Dennis Schroder and a key offensive rebound by Evan Mobley preserved the win for a Cavaliers squad that had dropped three of their previous four. 

Cleveland was still without the services of its leading scorer, Donovan Mitchell, who missed his third straight game with a strained right groin. But the Cavs did get James Harden back after missing two straight with a thumb fracture. 

Playing against his former team, Harden nearly notched a triple-double – leading the Wine and Gold with 22 points and eight assists, adding nine rebounds in the win. As he often does, the 11-time All-Star did a lot of his damage from the stripe, going 8-of-12 from the free throw line as well as 5-of-9 from the floor overall, including 4-of-7 from long-range. 

Evan Mobley followed up a strong effort on Friday night in Detroit with his second straight double-double on Sunday afternoon – finishing with 17 points and a game-high 13 rebounds, adding a pair of assists and a block.

Jarrett Allen was good again – pitching in with 20 points, six rebounds and a pair of steals against the team that drafted him with the 22^nd overall pick back in 2017. Allen was 7-for-12 from and 6-of-8 from the stripe in Sunday’s win. 

Sam Merrill rounded out the Cavaliers starters in double-figures, finishing with 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. 

Dennis Schroder was the only Cavs reserve in double-figures, chipping in with 12 points and five assists in 25 minutes of work. 

Keon Ellis didn’t have a big offensive game off the bench, but was relentless on the defensive end, tying a career high with five blocked shots – one more than the Nets as a team – adding a team-high three steals to go with three boards, two assists and four points on 2-of-5 shooting. 

Asked postgame what allowed him to be so disruptive, the 4^th-year man replied, “Just go out there and be in the right spots, do the right assignments and make plays. Just get in the gaps for steals and deflections – that’s the approach.”

Overall, the Nets shot 51 percent from the floor and outscored Cleveland by 12 in the paint, but they also took 17 fewer free throws and grabbed just three offensive rebounds. The Wine and Gold weren’t at their sharpest either, which allowed the Nets to stay in the game – committing 17 miscues and getting outscored by Brooklyn’s second unit, 47-23. 

Michael Porter Jr. led Brooklyn with 26 points on 10-of-17 shooting, including 5-of-8 from beyond the arc. Impressive rookie big man Danny Wolf led all reserves on Sunday, finishing with 23 points and a team-best nine rebounds in 27 minutes of work off the bench.