On Wednesday night, the Cavs(25-14) defeated the Suns(20-19) 90-88 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
Cleveland has won three straight, while Phoenix has lost four straight and seven of their last eight.
Here’s the Great, Not So Great, and the Bottom Line of the Cavs’ win over the Suns
Great:
Caris LeVert got the start for the injured Darius Garland and performed. LeVert scored 12 of his 21 points in the fourth, and in the fourth, he was 4/4 from the field, including 3/3 from deep. The Cavs don’t win without the contributions of LeVert.
Donovan Mitchell did not shoot it well(6/20 from the field, including 3/12 from downtown). However, during money time, he was big. Mitchell made a three to put the Cavs up 88-85 with 40 seconds left, and with the game tied at 88, he assisted on an Evan Mobley jumper with four seconds to go! Mitchell didn’t score 71, but he still got the job done.
Raul Neto gave the Cavs a big boost off the bench. Neto scored eight of his season-high 14 points in the third and gave the Cavs life. Cleveland doesn’t win without Neto.
Not So Great:
Shooting: Cleveland could not make shots against the Suns; they finished the game shooting 39% from the field, including 30% from deep, but fortunately, Phoenix wasn’t much better as they shot 40% from the field.
First Half: Cleveland had a bad first half, scoring only 33 points, and they shot 29% from the floor, including 16% from three. Not good, but again, they won.
Bottom Line:
This was a workmanlike performance. Nothing pretty about this game, but the Cavs won. It’s really that simple. These are the wins that a good team gets. Not at your best, but you pass the test, and now the Cavs get some rest until Friday when they head to Denver to face the Nuggets as they start a five-game west coast road trip.
After this trip, we’ll learn a lot about the Cavs, who struggle on the road.
What’s Next:
Cleveland heads to Denver to face the Nuggets on Friday night.
Best of the Rest:
Chris Paul led the Suns with 25 points and eight assists; Deandre Ayton had a double-double with 15 points and 18 rebounds. All five starters for the Suns scored in double figures.
Cedi Osman had 12 points off the Cavs’ bench.
Darius Garland(thumb) missed his second straight game, and Phoenix was without their leading scorer Devin Booker(groin).
