Game Recap: Cavs vs Spurs

In three games this week, Tyson is averaging 21.7ppg and 8.0rpb, shooting 73 percent shooting from the floor and 58 percent from beyond the arc. On the year, the second-year swingman is shooting .477 from long-range – 4^th-best mark in the Association. 

Once again, Donovan Mitchell led the Cavaliers with 28 points on 9-for-17 shooting, going 9-of-11 from the stripe to go with a team-high eight assists and three steals. 

Evan Mobley continued his rock-solid run – following up with 17 points and a game-high 10 rebounds for his second straight double-double, sixth in his last eight outings, going 7-for-12 from the field, adding five assists and a pair of blocked shots. Mobley has also recorded multiple swats in six of his last eight games, including nine rejections over the past three. 

Overall, the Cavaliers attempted just 26 three-pointers, nine fewer than their previous season-low, but shot 58 percent from the floor. Cleveland outrebounded the Spurs, 48-38, outran them on the break, 24-6, and handed out 32 assists, their highest total in almost a month. 

Nae’Qwan Tomlin got his second start of the season on Friday, pitching in with 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting. De’Andre Hunter was the fifth starter in double-figures, finishing with 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting. 

Devin Vassell led the Spurs with 28 points and De’Aaron Fox added 25 points, led both teams with nine assists and led San Antonio’s starters with five rebounds in the loss. 

*** Cleveland’s reserves came up big on Friday night – led by Dean Wade and Craig Porter Jr., who each did a little bit of everything. 

Wade led the second unit with 12 points, going 4-of-6 from the floor, including 2-of-4 from long-range, adding eight rebounds, five assists and a steal in 29 minutes of action. Porter was just as efficient – finishing with 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting, adding seven boards and a pair of steals in his 24 minutes off the bench. 

Lonzo Ball finished with just two points, but played a strong floor game on both ends – chipping in with six boards, five assists and three steals. 

*** The Cavaliers have now won 11 of their last 13 meetings against San Antonio dating back to December 2019, including each of the last five here at Rocket Arena. The Wine and Gold are now 3-2 against the West this year – 16-4 over the last two seasons. 

*** Cleveland utilized its 13^th different starting lineup through the first 24 games of the season on Friday night. The Cavs are one of six NBA teams to used at least a dozen different starting lineups this year – and their 14 wins are the highest total among those half-dozen squads. 

*** When the Cavaliers are rolling, they can handle any team in the league shooting the long ball. But on Friday night, they played some old-fashioned bully-ball – mauling San Antonio from close range, piling up a season-high 80 points in the paint and cruising to the 130-117 win to snap a two-game skid at Rocket Arena. 

After a nip-and-tuck first half, Jaylon Tyson fueled a 44-point third quarter – notching 16 of his 24 points in the period as the Cavs pulled away from the short-handed Spurs, playing without their superstar big man, Victor Wembanyama and last season’s Rookie of the Year, Stephon Castle. 

The Cavaliers – shorthanded themselves without the services of Jarrett Allen, Darius Garland, Sam Merrill, Tyrese Proctor and Larry Nance Jr. – got off to another slow start, falling behind by double-digits in the first period. Cleveland found its footing in the second quarter and absolutely erupted in the third – shooting 77 percent from the floor, including 60 percent from long-range. Simultaneously, the Cavs held the Spurs to 28 percent, including 1-of-11 from beyond the arc. The Cavs outrebounded San Antonio in the third, 19-3. 

In that decisive quarter, Tyson went 7-for-8 from the floor, 2-of-3 from deep. On the night, the surging sophomore from Cal was 11-for-15 from the field, 2-of-4 from three-point range, adding six boards, two assists and a pair of blocks in the win. 

*** After blowing by the Spurs on Friday night, the Wine & Gold close out their three-game Western Conference home stand on Saturday night when they welcome the Warriors to town. After a nice five-day break, the Cavs finally hit the road – traveling to face the Wizards next Friday before returning home to face the Hornets on Sunday afternoon. The following week, Cleveland plays a home-and-home series against the Bulls – heading to the Windy City on Wednesday night and welcoming Chicago to town on Friday.