Tag Archives: Basketball

Cavs run past the Bulls 109-101

Donovan Mitchell dominates with 34 point performance 

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) warms up wearing a Martin Luther King Jr. shirt before a game against the Chicago Bulls at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

Photo credit David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

 By James Bridges

January 15, 20249:33 pm

Cleveland, OH – The Cleveland Cavaliers played their first game since participating in the NBA Paris game 2024 where they defeated the Brooklyn Nets.

The Cavs defeated the Chicago Bulls 190-101 thanks to a 34 point performance from Donovan Mitchell.

The Cavs began the game on fire scoring the game’s first 8 points before the Bulls scored their first basket. Donovan Mitchell set the tone for the wine and gold scoring 10 of his 34 points in the 1st quarter.

The Bulls fought back with a run of their own to cut the Cavs lead to 4 at 15-11 halfway through the period. With the bench mob on the floor, the Cavs went on a 23-7 to extend their lead to 35-18. Caris Levert and Georges Niang combined for 16 points off the bench in the first quarter.

The Cavs’ defensive presence was felt as they held the Bulls to 39% shooting from the floor and only allowed 3 made 3-pointers. The Cavs ended the quarter leading 40-21.

The 2nd quarter didn’t match the same offensive dominance from the 1st quarter. The Cavs were held to just 20 points in the quarter and were held to just 29% shooting.

The Bulls still struggled shooting from long range after going 1 for 5 from behind the arc. The Bulls however shot 58% on 2-point field goals and doubled the Cavs on scoring in the paint 16 to 8.

Even with improved shooting in the quarter the Bulls only cut the lead to 16 as the Cavs led 60-46 going into halftime.

The 3rd quarter was not kind to the home team, after leading by 14 at halftime the Bulls cut the Cavs’ lead to 3 by the end of the quarter. The offensive woes from the 2nd quarter followed into the 2nd half as they shot 36% from the floor. While the Cavs were ice cold, the Bulls took advantage and went on a 20-3 scoring run to end the quarter.

The Bulls got some offensive punch from the bench after Ayo Dosunmu scored 10 points in the 3rd quarter.

The 3rd quarter ended with some drama after Georges Niang was called for a foul with 0.4 seconds left on the clock. After an official review. It was determined that Niang didn’t stay vertical, and Dosunmu nailed both free throws to cut the Cavs lead to 3.

The Cavs carried a 3-point lead into the 4th quarter and quickly saw themselves down 1 after the Bulls scored the first 4 points of the quarter.

The quarter then turned into the Donovan Mitchell show as he scored 5 of the Cavs’ first 10 points of the quarter, including an and-1 conversion that gave the Cavs a 7-point lead.

After Caris Levert knocked down back to back 3 pointers the Cavs extended their lead to 10 with just under 6 minutes left in regulation.

The Bulls didn’t get any closer as Donovan Mitchell nailed 2 free throws with under 2 minutes left to push the lead to 15 and the Cavs went on to beat the Bulls 109-91.

In postgame coach Bickerstaff was asked if he believed his team had found their identity, he quickly responded yes, but pointed to the injuries making it difficult to achieve.

“Yes, but I believe the beginning of the year was just so choppy. So many guys that were in and out that we were just hurting. We were talking about… playing with more movement and those things, and if you don’t get the reps at it, it’s hard to become what you want to be. I think now, we’ve gotten close to 40 games under our belt. Guys have an understanding of what we’re trying to do, and they’re going out and they’re able to execute it now.”

Even with the explosion in 3-point attempts coach Bickerstaff still believes this team’s best chance at winning is their defense, but knows they can use the 3-point shot as a weapon.

“We continue to talk about being a defensive team first and foremost. We know that’s where we’ll find our most success. Using a three-point shot as a weapon, again those threes the majority of them came assisted and they were the guys doing the right thing like Dean’s last few. It was his teammates finding him and believing in him. I don’t think he had made one up until that point, and they continue to believe in him, find him, and tell him to shoot it.”

Dean Wade finished the game with 12 points, all of them coming from behind the 3-point line. The Cavs bench mob showed up tonight, they scored a combined 44 points and Sam Merrill’s hot hand continued as he had 15 points and was 4/6 from behind the arc.

With the Cavs shooting more 3 pointers the last month, the Cavs identity has been called into question. Donovan Mitchell was asked if about the Cavs defense in the 4th quarter he responded with “that’s our identity.”

“That’s our identity at the end of the day. When you make an attempt to score no matter what happens on the offensive end, it’s gonna you know, it evens out in a sense. You may not be making shots, but our identity is you’re not gonna get a shot, you’re not going to be able to do that. Whether it’s getting steals, creating 24-second violations like we did, being in the passing lane enforcing tough shots or getting on the boards. Whatever it is just scraping and fighting and clawing. That’s the biggest thing, but I always give credit, it starts with Jay (Jarrett Allen), he’s been phenomenal. And, you know, we’ve done a good job as well.”

Before the game coach Bickerstaff was asked about the significance of playing on Martin Luther King Day and he believes that people of influence should be more accountable and mindful of their actions.

“For me this year in particular, having thought about it, you take an opportunity to reflect on this. There are two ways I see it. One way it’s a celebration of where we are right now. The opportunities that I’m afforded because of the sacrifice and the ultimate sacrifice that he made, the barriers he broke down, and the fights that he was willing to take knowing what probably the ends were going to be. But for the greater good, he made the decision to keep going and you look in this room, you look in our crowd tonight, and you’ll see the fruits of that. I also think about it in a way now where part of me and him would be a little sad if you saw the state of where we are right now. I think it’s disappointing that we’ve found a way to thrive on division instead of going out and trying to bring people together, which is what his message was all about. We have people in power, people of influence, who are thriving because they want to keep people separated. To me, that’s saddening and I think his message on a day like today, it’s all about bringing people together and that’s when we’re at our strongest and when we’re at our best. So I want to talk about the civility that we should share amongst each other and how we treat each other, the conversations that we have. It’s completely okay to disagree, right? We don’t have to have the same beliefs. That’s not what we’re here for. But, we can respectfully disagree and just because we don’t agree, doesn’t make someone a bad person. I think that’s something that we have to do a better job of. All of us who have voices, media included. People watch us, people see what we do, and we set a tone for people every single day. They watch sports shows, they watch CNN and Fox News, on and on and on, and how we carry ourselves matters because we do have influence. So I do think it’s time that we hold ourselves accountable to how we act. How we treat one another and use our influence for a positive and try to change how we treat one another and how we care about one another. Just be kind to one another, as simple as that sounds. So if today’s a day where that message can be heard, then I think it’s a wonderful day to celebrate. A great man.”

The Cavs (23-15) take on the Milwaukee Bucks (28-12) on Wednesday, January 17.

Cavs hold on to beat Spurs 117-115

Jarrett Allen dominates with 29 point 16 boards 

Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen (31) shoots beside San Antonio Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan (10) and center Victor Wembanyama (1) i

Photo credit David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

January 7, 20245:25 pm

Cleveland, Ohio – The Cavaliers held on to beat the Spurs 117-115 after they squandered a 16 point 4th quarter lead.

The Cavs hosted the San Antonio Spurs for the final home game of a 3 game home stand.

The Cavs started the game very sluggish and the Spurs jumped out to a 13-5 lead to open the game. The Cavs struggled to contain the Spurs offensively. San Antonio shot 60% from behind the arc and 68% from the field in the opening quarter.

Despite the Cavs’ slow start, they closed the quarter strong after Caris Levert nailed a 3-pointer over former Cavalier Cedi Osman. Then Levert stole the inbound pass to knock down a pull-up three before the end of the quarter.

The Cavs trailed by as much as 9 but entered the 2nd quarter only down 4.

In the 2nd quarter, the Cavs’ defense looked similar to much of the 1st quarter, allowing the Spurs plenty of open shots. However, the Spurs didn’t shoot as well in the 2nd quarter. The Cavs held them to 38% (5/13)  from 3-point land.

The wine and gold’s offense struggled for most of the first half until the bench squad came to life. After the Spurs pushed the lead back up to 8 the Cavs went on a 19-8 run to take their first lead of the game 49-46.

The star of the 2nd quarter was Jarrett Allen, he scored 11 points and grabbed 5 rebounds. Co-star Sam Merrill poured in 12 points off the bench including going 3/6 from behind the arc. Those 2 combined for 23 of the Cavs 34 points in the quarter. The Cavs went on to lead at halftime 62-56.

The Cavs’ offensive woes were on display in the first half as they only had 2 players score in double-digits (Allen and Merrill).

Donovan Mitchell had a quiet first half, he played almost 17 minutes but only scored 6 points. Despite a cold shooting streak, he did have 5 assists in the 1st half.

The 3rd quarter saw the same issues from the 1st half continue to follow the Cavs. The Spurs shot 50% from the floor in the quarter and outscored the Cavs for the quarter to only trail by 4 entering the 4th.

The 3rd quarter wasn’t all bad, 6th man Caris Levert carried the Cavs on the offense, scoring 13 of his 23 points in the quarter. Levert used some late-quarter magic again after the Spurs double-teamed Sam Merrill he found Levert in the corner who nailed a 3 at the buzzer to give the Cavs an 88-84 lead.

The final period saw the Cavs start the quarter scoring 5 unanswered points before the Spurs called a timeout to regroup. The Spurs after the timeout went on a 7-0 run thanks to back-to-back turnovers from the Cavs to bring the game to 93-91.

With just under 10 minutes left in regulation, the Cavs went on a 18-4 run and increased their lead to 16 111-95. From there it looked like the Cavaliers would cruise to victory. However, the Spurs didn’t quit. The Cavs were held to just 10 points during the final 5:47 of regulation and the they were held scoreless the final 2 minutes of the game. The Spurs made a valiant effort thanks to Victory Wembanyama who had 8 points in the final quarter and finished with 24 points 9 rebounds and 5 blocked shots.

Donovan Mitchell who’s played with another French big man Rudy Gobert, stated in post game that Wembanyama is as advertised.

“He’s as advertised. I don’t know if he’s gonna fill out like Giannis or what it’ll be, but right now he’s doing things that…. you can tell he’s young, so he’s doing things that you can see what he will ultimately be, the competitor he is. I saw it against the Bucks, seeing it tonight, never stopping. He’s already a defensive monster. The one [possession] where he took the ball and I had to shoot it in the corner. Pretty sure he was three or four feet away from me. Most bigs have the wingspan to get there and play the lob with JA. So those are things, just disruptive defensively that he already has. I’ve already played with Rudy [Gobert]. To see him and to see someone bigger and longer than him, I think it’s pretty wild.”

The Spurs rally continued until the final seconds, the Spurs cut the Cavs lead to 4 with 52 seconds to go after Wembanyama knocked down 2 free throws. The Cavs next 2 possession resulted in turnovers and the Spurs turned one of thoes turnovers to points when Wembanyama scored a layup to make it a 2 point game 117-115 wit just 41 seconds in regulation.

Donovan Mitchell with a chance to put the game away missed a pull up jumper that would’ve given the Cavs a 4 point lead with under 20 seconds to go. Instead, the Spurs had a chance to tie the game or take the lead but thanks to a bad pass from Jeremy Sochan the Spurs lost the ball out of bounds and possession went to the Cavs.

With just 8 seconds the Cavs inbounded the ball to Sam Merrill he would drive to the paint, and he’d dish it off to Levert whose layup attempt was blocked by Wembanyama. With seconds on the clock, Sochan would corral the loose ball and with a chance for the win, he heaved a 30 foot 3 pointer that was no good.

The Cavs went on to beat the Spurs 117-115. Coach Bickerstaff in postgame gave credit to his big man Jarrett Allen for knowing what the team was missing and what they needed.

“He felt his teammates go down, he knew he had to do more. It also obviously presents more opportunities for the ball to be in his hands for him to be a part of it. Just on his sheer load. It’s not being split. So to me, it’s a credit to him, understanding what we’re missing and what we need and then him going out and just trying to do whatever he can to help the team win.’

Jarrett Allen finished with a game high 29 points and 16 rebounds.

Coach Bickerstaff was asked, does he believe Jarrett Allen deserves to be an All-Star. He quickly answered with ‘he’s gotta be’.

“He is, in my opinion. He’s gotta be. I don’t know, you know, you talk about the Embiids of the world, obviously, but I don’t know any big man, any center, who’s playing better than Jarrett Allen. I don’t know anybody in that frontcourt position who’s playing better than Jarrett Allen right now. It’s deserving. What he did tonight, both sides of the ball. We highlight impact on winning along with production, and Jarrett Allen is it.”

The Cavs finished their current home stand 3-0 and now will travel to Paris, France to take on the Brooklyn Nets. What does coach Bickerstaff want his team to take from the experience?

“We’re extremely fortunate to be a part of to represent not only the Cavaliers, but the NBA on an international scale is a big compliment to this group of guys. We need to go out and handle it the right way and handle it the right way means going out and being as competitive as we can on Thursday for the world to see. But you know, you want the guys to embrace the opportunity to go to Paris, not everybody’s had the opportunity to go there, spend time there. Learn, see the history, experience it. We’ll try to find a way to manage both of those. But you know, life is more than basketball. And we try to preach that to our guys. So we want them to experience and enjoy the moment as well.”

The Cavs improve to 21-15, the play the Brooklyn Nets (16-20) playing the league’s third regular-season game in Paris at the Accor Arena on Thursday, January 11, 2024.

Cavs dominate Wizards 114-90, sweep 2 game set

Donovan Mitchell scored 26 in Cavs blowout victory 

Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) passes against Washington Wizards guard Tyus Jones (5) during the first half at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse

Photo credit Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

 By James Bridges

January 5, 20249:51 pm

Cleveland, Ohio – The Cavs took care of the Washington Wizards 114-90 winning both games of their back-to-back series.

The Cavs hosted the Washington Wizards in the second game of their back-to-back after defeating the Wizards by 40 on Wednesday night.

The Cavs started Friday night’s game shooting 50% from 3-point land in the first quarter. The wine and gold led the Wizards by as much as 14. However, the Cavs only led by 10 to end the quarter as the Wizards matched the Cavs’ 3-point total (5 made 3-pointers) and shot 50% from the field.

Donovan Mitchell was the star of the opening period. Mitchell scored 11 points and knocked down 3 shots behind the arc.

The 2nd quarter didn’t look as good as the 1st quarter for the Cavs, however, their defense showed up big.

The Cavs’ calling card has been defense and Friday night it showed up big. The Cavs held the Wizards to 14 points in the quarter to increase their halftime lead to 12. The Cavs also only allowed the Wizards 3 free throws in the first half. The Cavs caused 5 turnovers but only scored 2 points off those turnovers. The Cavs struggled to score in the 2nd quarter only scoring 16 points with 10 of those coming from the bench crew.

Coach Bickerstaff postgame reiterated that defense is where the Cavs will be able to separate themselves from the rest.

“I know the offense gets a lot of attention, but that doesn’t mean we stop working and focusing on the defensive end of the floor. We continue every single day to impress upon our guys that that’s what’s going to separate us. We’ve talked pregame about how many teams are scoring 140 points. But, the teams that are going to eventually separate themselves are teams that can get stops and figure out a way to convert on the offensive and so we try to be balanced but, we’ll still have to spend a ton of time on the defensive end.”

Donovan Mitchell who had a superb first quarter only scored 3 points all of them coming from the free throw line.

Out of halftime, the Wizards would score 4 points in the first minute of the quarter to cut the Cavs lead to 8. The Cavs outscored the Wizards 32-15 the remainder of the quarter. The Cavs’ energy and effort on defense was much improved from the first half. The Cavs were active on the glass and out-rebounded the Wizards 18-7 in the quarter. The Cavs ended the quarter leading 84-57. Although they led to start the final quarter the Cavs didn’t play a completely clean game, through 3 quarters they committed 16 turnovers which resulted in 18 points for the Wizards.

The Cavs started the 4th quarter with a 27-point lead and the game never became in peril. The Cavs bench mob carried most of the load to end the game. Sam Merrill had a night off the bench scoring double digits. Gerorges Niang had one of his best shooting nights of the year. He hit 4 of his 8 3-pointers and looked very confident with his catch-and-shoot opportunities.

The Cavs resident 6th man Caris Levert continued his consistent play scoring 11 points off the bench including a career high 11 assist.

Donovan Mitchell ended his night early as he saw no 4th quarter minutes. HIs day finished with 26 points and 4 assists in 25 minutes of play.

Over the Cavs’ last 10 games without Daris Garland and Evan Mobley the Cavs are 7-3. Coach Bickerstaff was asked in postgame how they’re progressing so far.

“They’re doing well. They’re able to do different things just because of their injuries and circumstances. But I think you see them here, you know, they’re good spirits. They’re around the group. But you know, they’re progressing. Evan is able to do more and more every day and, we’re just being cautious with Darius because of the wiring and how much he can actually handle, calorie intake, and all those things. So, we’re just trying to be cautious with him and make sure that those guys take the steps that they need. To get them back when they’re ready to go.”

When asked if he could see the recent success coming despite all the injuries The Cavs suffered, Bickerstaff pointed to the trust he has of his players.

“I would bank on these guys to be honest with you. There’s a lot of trust in that locker room and the guys that are there. You go down the list individually like we know what Donovan is capable of, Max, all those guys care. Everybody stepped up, and I’m hard pressed to find a guy a big guy who’s playing better than Jarrett Allen. I think we all need to take a serious look at his All Star accolades. Because I don’t know many big guys, if any that are playing better than him right now.”

The Cavs and Ricky Rubio have parted ways after Rubio started the season away from the team, he decided to announce his retirement earlier in the week. Coach Bickerstaff gave Rubio the credit for sacrificing and making it easier for him to coach the rest of the team.

“Ricky was one of my favorite people to be around in the NBA. I owe Ricky a debt of gratitude. There’s only a couple of guys who I could say at this point has had the impact on me that way. He helped us in a brief period of time turn this organization into what you see in front of you again. We were 22 wins. His presence allowed me to coach the team in a certain way, where no one was too big to sacrifice. He was a starting point guard his entire career. He was a starting level point guard when he was with us, but he sacrificed to come off the bench to be a part of this team. And that allowed me to coach the team in a way where, you know, nobody was above what was the most important thing and that was the team. Ricky is one of the most unique spirits I’ve ever been around period. He’s not a guy who, has to say a lot or has to be always in the mix. But somehow, someway, he’s got a gravity that people just want to be around him and spend time with him. Play for him, not just with him. He will always always have a special place for me, and you know, someday you will look back at it and he’s one of the guys that I know for sure will stand out. And I cannot speak on how appreciative I am of my time with him and our relationship. Again, it’s career changing what he was able to help me do”

The Cavs improve to 20-15 on the season, they’ll play the San Antonio Spurs (5-29) Sunday January 7th.

Pelicans beat up injury riddled Cavs 123-104

Dean Wade sets season high with 20 points 

Pelicans center Jonas Valanciunas (17) and Cleveland Cavaliers forward Dean Wade (32) contest a rebound

Photo credit David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

 By James Bridges

December 21, 202311:21 pm

Cleveland, Ohio – The Cavs dropped the final game of their homestand to the Pelicans 123-104.

The Cavs hosted the New Orleans Pelicans for the 4th and final game of their current home stand. Cavalier star Donovan Mitchell missed his 2nd consecutive game due to an illness.

The first quarter turned out to be a game of runs with the Cavs taking their only lead of the game in the first quarter 7-4. The Cavs then saw themselves down 19-9 within the first 4 minutes of the game. The Cavs rallied back and cut the deficit to as low as 5 but ended the quarter trailing by 8 points.

The wine and gold struggled defensively to contain the Pelicans. New Orleans shot 65% from the floor and 50% from 3 point land. The Cavs also had issues with their defensive rotations, the Pelicans ball movement kept the Cavs defense on their heels all quarter.

While the 1st quarter saw the Pelicans score 16 points in the paint, the 2nd quarter the Cavs struggled to slow the Pelicans down in transition. The Pelicans scored 11 fast break points to the Cavs zero.

The home team did get an offensive spark started when they went on a 10-2 run in the middle of the quarter to cut the lead to 2. From there the Pelicans stepped on the gas and ended the 1st half on a 15-3 run that included two fast break 3 pointers in the final 3 minutes. The Cavs entered halftime trailing  66-52.

Max Strus was the bright spot for the Cavs in the 1st half, he scored 11 points 2 assists, although he did have 2 turnovers.

The injury bug hit Cleveland again, rookie guard Sam Merrill was ruled out of the game with right wrist soreness and did not play in the 2nd half. He finished with 0 points on 0-4 from the field in 12 minutes.

Coach Bickerstaff after the game explained how Merrill hurt his wrist Wednesday night against the Utah Jazz.

“He fell last night in the first half and  was able to get through it yesterday. Just woke up this morning sore and then obviously went out, tried to play and just wasn’t able to go.”

When asked about Merrill’s status for the Bulls game coach Bickerstaff was non committal.

“Yeah, we’ll see what happens. I mean, obviously, if he couldn’t finish the game out tonight. You know, he’s got a couple of days but you never know. He’s a tough kid. So we’ll see what happens.”

The Cavs began the 3rd quarter with much better energy and effort as they scored 5 unanswered points en route to a 10-2 run to start the half.

The Cavs eventually cut the lead down to 4 trailing 80-76 with 4 minutes and 36 seconds remaining in the quarter. From that point on the Cavs didn’t score the remainder of the quarter as the Pelicans closed the quarter on a 14-0 run with the Cavs beginning the 4th quarter trailing 99-76.

When asked to assess his team’s performance, coach Bickerstaff thought his guys just ran out of gas.

“We just ran out of steam. You can’t knock the effort in what our guys have been doing. You know how they’ve been competing, bodies down and everybody’s had to step up and do a little bit more. And I just thought, we ran out of steam there.”

The Cavaliers offensive woes would continue into the final period. The Cavs only scored 4 points in the first 3 minutes of the quarter and the deficit became too much for the Cavs to overcome. The Pelicans cruised to a victory and the Cavs dropped the final game of their homestand 123-104.

Despite the loss the Cavs finished 3-1 on their homestand and for Coach Bickerstaff he considered that a successful week.

“We’ve had a great week, you go three and one on this homestand and battled the things that we’ve had to battle. This has been a successful week for us. Now we just got to continue to put it together and hold down the fort.”

Dean Wade set a season high in points with 20 points and shooting 6/8 from behind the arc, what’s the story behind Wade’s aggressive shooting?

“Because if I don’t shoot it, I’m going to get yelled at by my teammates (no not really). The guys believing in me goes a long way. The whole thing self belief and everything like that and you got to realize if you don’t take the open shot, sometimes that’s the best shot you’re going to get that whole possession a lot of times and you know, that possession if you don’t shoot, it might end up in a turnover or something bad so you might as well shoot it.”

The Cavs (16-13) travel to Chicago to face the Bulls (13-17)  Saturday December 23rd.

Cavs need overtime to defeat Rockets 135-130

Donovan Mitchell shines with 37 points, Merrill adds 19 off the bench 

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) and guard Sam Merrill (5) celebrate in overtime against the Houston Rockets

Photo credit David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

 By James Bridges

December 18, 202311:39 pm

Cleveland, Ohio – The Cavs defeated the Houston Rockets 135-130 in overtime. Donovan Mitchell scored a game high 37 points while Sam Merrill added 19 from the bench.

The Cavs hosted the Houston Rockets for the second game of their 4 game home stand and the second game they have played without Darius Garland (broken jaw) and Evan Mobley (knee surgery).

The Cavs came out of the gate on fire starting the game on a 16 -6 run. Donovan Mitchell keyed the offense after a career high in assists in their win against the Hawks.

Mitchell scored his first 8 points in the first 3 ½ minutes of the game. However, the Cavs struggled to contain the Rockets bench. The Cavs bench was outscored 17-10 in the opening period, including 10 points from former Cavalier Jeff Green. The Cavs also allowed 18 points in the paint which resulted in the Cavs trailing 34-33 after one quarter.

The Cavs opened the 2nd quarter with a 13- 5 run and took a brief 6 point lead but was short lived. The Rockets dominated the Cavs in the paint and out rebounded them 14-7 in the quarter. The Cavs offense left much to be desired in the 2nd quarter as Mitchell was held scoreless in the quarter and the Cavs were out scored the final 7 minutes of the half 19-11.

The Cavs leading scorer at halftime was Sam Merrill who scored 11 points and shot 50% from 3 point land.

Coach Bickerstaff was asked if Merrill’s performance in tonight’s game earned him more trust, he replied, it’s not about trust but opportunity.

“We trust him it’s just a matter of opportunity. He took advantage of his opportunity. We know both sides of the ball, he’s going to do all the things that contribute to winning. He defensive rebounds, he defends his position. You know, dives on the floor, he chases down loose balls. So, you know, it’s not a matter of trust. It’s just a matter of opportunity. He’s getting this opportunity and taking advantage of it.”

With just over 2 minutes to go in regulation Donovan Mitchell hit a step back jumper to give the Cavs a 3 point lead. The Rockets Alperen Sengun scored a dunk with 2 minutes remaining to cut the lead to one. Sengun with :36 seconds remaining in regulation and a chance to give the Rockets the lead missed his first of 2 free throws. Sengun made the second to send the ballgame to overtime.

To begin overtime coach Bickerstaff inserted Sam Merrill into the lineup and he provided the Cavs with an offensive punch. Merril scored 5 points in the quarter, including a crucial layup that generated a fist pump from Mitchell.

Merrill also hit a 3 pointer with 1:37 left in overtime to put the Cavs up by 7 and the Cavs went on to defeat the Rockets in overtime 135-130.

The star of post game conversation was Sam Merrill who scored the 2nd most points for Cavs with 19 in the overtime win. Coach Bickerstaff when asked what he thought of Merrill’s performance, guts, grit and professionalism.

“Guts, grit, professionalism. You know, just a guy who always puts himself in position that if his number’s called, he’s going to be ready to go. And I think he showed it tonight and for him to just be ready and stay ready just speaks a lot to his character and who he is.”

Donovan Mitchell shared in his post game press conference that he played pick up with Merrill during his time with the Jazz (Sam Merrill played college ball at Utah State University) and that this is who Merrill has always been.

“I’ve known Sam since he was in Utah State. We played pickup with him when I was playing in Utah and playing against me and Georges. So I’ve known him for a little bit and this is what he does. He puts in a tremendous amount of work. I don’t know if he’d like me to say this, but he’s cursing himself out because he’s missing one or two in a row. Like he’s that detail and that focused on his craft and to see him have a night like this, especially when we need it to like, it’s great, he’s that guy. He’s gonna continue to be that guy for us, but the biggest thing is just, you know, hard work, right. Like when hard work meets opportunity, man, it’s just a beautiful thing to see. This is who he is.”

Sam Merrill finished his night 19 points 4 assist shooting 50% from 3 point land. With the win over the Rockets the Cavs improve to 2-0 in overtime games this season.

The Cavs (15-12) continue their home stand December 20th when they take on the Utah Jazz (10-17).