Behind 33 points from Donovan Mitchell and a dominant fourth quarter, the Cleveland Cavaliers scored their eighth consecutive win with a 114-100 defeat of the host Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.
Cleveland trailed throughout the first half on the second installment of a five-game road swing. But after a sluggish start, the Cavaliers settled in and took control in the second half.
Los Angeles held an 80-77 lead with less than four minutes to go in the third quarter. Cedi Osman knocked down a game-tying 3-pointer at the 3:28 mark, and Cleveland never trailed again.
The Cavaliers scored the final 10 points of the period, then the first seven to open the fourth for a decisive 17-0 run. Mitchell’s and-one play to open the fourth quarter pushed the lead to 10 points, and it never dipped to single digits again.
Mitchell’s backcourt mate, Darius Garland, added 24 points, while Jarrett Allen scored 16 with a team-high 11 rebounds for a double-double. The trio shot a combined 25 of 26 from the free-throw line, with Mitchell’s 12-of-13 performance accounting for the sole miss.
Cleveland went 32 of 36 at the charity stripe as a team, compared to a dismal 12 of 21 for Los Angeles.
The Lakers also shot 8 of 27 from 3-point range. LeBron James, who was a combined 0-for-12 from beyond the arc in Los Angeles’ previous two games, finally connected on one Sunday but was just 1-for-4 from deep.
James scored a team-high 27 points.
Anthony Davis added 19 points and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds, while Russell Westbrook came off the bench to chip in 19 points and dish 10 assists. Westbrook shot 3-for-5 from 3-point range.
Cleveland’s Kevin Love was responsible for the fourth different double-double of the day, posting 10 points and 10 rebounds off the bench. Osman added another nine points in reserve duty as the Cavaliers continued their early-season roll.
–Field Level Media
