The Cleveland Cavaliers will look to move closer to clinching the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and contend for the best record in the NBA when they host the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday in a late-season interconference game.
The Cavaliers (58-14) still have plenty for which to play. Cleveland has clinched the Central Division but are just five games clear of the surging Boston Celtics for the top spot in the East with 10 games left in the regular season. The Cavaliers will begin play on Thursday two games behind Oklahoma City for the best record in the league.
Cleveland’s most recent contest was a 122-111 win at Portland on Tuesday, as the Cavaliers won their second straight outing after a season-worst four-game losing streak. Darius Garland led Cleveland with 27 points in the win while Ty Jerome added 25 points off the bench and Evan Mobley racked up 21 points and 12 rebounds.
The Cavaliers played without star guard Donovan Mitchell, who was out with a groin injury. He will be available against the Spurs on Thursday.
Jarrett Allen and Sam Merrill also had 14 points each and De’Andre Hunter hit for 11 points in the victory, which was Cleveland’s 28th victory away from home — the most in a single season in franchise history.
The win capped a five-game road trip — all against Western Conference teams — for Cleveland. “We’re a tired group right now,” Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson said after the Portland game. “We need to get home, get in our own bed, get back on our routine.”
Garland continues to impress as the Cavaliers’ Robin to Mitchell’s Batman, averaging 20.8 points, 6.7 assists and 2.8 rebounds per game while shooting a career-high 47.6 percent from the floor and 40.3 percent from behind the arc. Garland was named to the All-Star team this year for the second time in his career.
“This year is literally a revenge season, just for all the doubters and the haters that just counted me out from last year with all the stuff I was going through,” Garland explained “So this year, you’re getting a product from what everybody else was talking about last year.”
The Spurs (31-40) travel to Cleveland on the heels of a 122-96 loss at Detroit on Tuesday. Devin Vassell led San Antonio with 26 points, with Stephon Castle adding 19 points, Sandro Mamukelashvili tallying 11 and Keldon Johnson hitting for 10.
The Spurs shot just 22.2 percent from the floor in the first half in the loss, trailing by 26 points at the break and by 19 heading into the final period.
“To give up 60 points in a half when your offense is that bad actually put too much pressure on our defense,” Spurs acting coach Mitch Johnson said. “We were actually playing okay defensively and in the second half we got a better response. We came out and moved the ball and played with more intention.”
The Spurs made just two field goals and scored only 12 points in the second quarter. “It was a tough one,” Vassell said. “First half was tough — we just couldn’t make any shots.”
San Antonio had won three straight games (tying a season high) prior to its loss on Tuesday and is still 3 1/2 games behind Phoenix and Sacramento, who are tied for 10th, for the final spot in the West play-in game.
The Spurs are in 13th place with just 11 games left in the regular season to earn a place in the postseason.
The teams play again on April 4 in the Alamo City. Cleveland has captured the past three contests with the Spurs after winning at home and on the road in 2024.
–Field Level Media
