Cavs keep on winning!

On Monday night, the red-hot Cavs(38-22) hosted the slumping Spurs(14-44), who limped into Cleveland on a 12-game losing streak.

The Cavs led by as many as 21 and defeated the Spurs 117-109 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

Cleveland has won seven straight, while the Spurs have now lost 13 in a row.

Here’s the Great, Not So Great, and the Bottom Line of the Cavs’ win over the Spurs.

The Great:

Donovan Mitchell scored 23 of his game-high 41 points in the first half. Mitchell(16/26 FG) also added six threes and five assists. He scored 40-plus points for the sixth time this season.

Jarrett Allen had his team-leading 26th double-double as he scored 17 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, and blocked three shots.

First Quarter: Cleveland jumped out early on the Spurs. They scored a game-high 34 points in the first. The Cavs were on fire as they shot 59% from the field. In addition, defensively, Cleveland held the Spurs to 39% from the field and created six turnovers, which led to 12 points. 

Turning the Spurs over: The Cavs forced 18 turnovers, which led to 29 points.

Not So Great:

The Spurs hung around too long: The only thing Cleveland did wrong was let the Spurs hang around. They led by 21 in the third, but they allowed the Spurs to trim the lead to 10 going into the fourth. San Antonio cut the lead to four in the final stanza before the Cavs pushed the lead back to 10 after going on a 6-0 run.

Bottom Line:

The Cavs are hot and playing some great basketball right now. They are playing good defense(they held three teams below 100 points during the streak) and getting contributions from multiple sources. However, five of the seven teams they’ve beaten on this streak are below .500, so are they playing great, or are they taking advantage of the schedule?

On Wednesday, the fourth-seeded Cavs go on the road to battle the third-seeded 76ers, who Cavs trail by one game in the standings; that game should tell us some things about Cleveland.

What’s next:

In their final game before the All-Star break, the Cavs travel to Philly to battle the 76ers on Wednesday night.

Best of the Rest:

-Darius Garland had 16 points and seven assists. Evan Mobley added 15 points, nine rebounds, and two blocks for the Cavs.

-Keldon Johnson led the Spurs with 25 points, and Malaki Branham had 18 points. San Antonio had six players in double figures.