Evan Mobley’s 41 points lift Cavs over Hornets
The Cavaliers picked up their fourth straight victory with a 116-102 win.
The Cleveland Cavaliers came out hot against the Charlotte Hornets. They jumped out to a 22-point lead by the start of the second quarter and it felt like they were going to run away with this one comfortably. That didn’t happen.
The Cavs took their foot off the gas as they allowed the Hornets to cut the lead to under ten by the half and they got it down to as close as four in the final quarter before Evan Mobley put them away. The Cavaliers came away with a 116-102 victory, but they weren’t able to rest their starters down the stretch like Kenny Atkinson would’ve likely wanted to considering they take on the Miami Heat tomorrow evening.
Mobley was the story of this game. He continues to play aggressively and confidently in situations where he has a mismatch or talent advantage. That includes attacking a banged-up Hornets front court.
Mobley relentlessly attacked the paint and confidentially pulled the trigger from distance early on. He outscored the Hornets in the opening frame with 23-first quarter points on 9-10 shooting while going 5-5 from three. It was the exact type of performance you want to see from Mobley.
Donovan Mitchell was instrumental in allowing Mobley to have the start that he did. Atkinson has called Mitchell the “Mobley whisperer” before. Today was a good example of why as he consistently fed Mobley early and often. Six of Mitchell’s eight assists went to Mobley. Continually getting him involved allowed Mobley to have the impressive performance he did.
Mobley wasn’t just dominant on offense, he also was by far the best defensive player on the court. He erased three Charlotte shots and was everywhere in the paint and on the glass.
Understandably, Mobley wasn’t able to continue the offensive pace he set in the first quarter, but still finished with a career-high 41 points on 16-23 shooting from the field and 6-8 from three. He added in 10 rebounds and 2 assists as well.
Mitchell took a back seat to Mobley. He put up 18 points, 8 assists, and attempted just 12 shots. Darius Garland contributed 18 points and 5 assists. Jarrett Allen added 11 points and 10 rebounds.
The Hornets are bad and were missing their best player in LaMelo Ball. The Cavs played with their food some, but it never felt like Charlotte had a chance to steal this one. These are the types of games good teams win without much stress.