CLEVELAND, Ohio — It was a bittersweet night for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Fueled by a terrific start on offense and a few clutch shots late from their All-Star, the Cavaliers topped the rebuild Orlando Magic, 107-101, at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Monday. The win ends Cleveland’s early three-game losing streak and helps revive their playoff hopes.
But it wasn’t all good news.
Phenom Rookie of the Year leader Evan Mobley left the game midway through the second quarter with a sprained left ankle. Mobley did not return and was officially ruled out for the remainder of the game before the third quarter began.
There’s no word yet on the severity of the ankle injury that occurred when Mobley landed awkwardly on the foot of fellow rookie Franz Wagner as he attempted to contest a drive serve. After lying on the pitch for a while during the stoppage and being checked anxiously by Wagner, Mobley was finally helped up and hobbled back to the dressing room.
The youngster finished the game with six points and three rebounds in 13 minutes.
“It’s hard to tell with Evan sometimes because he’s so calm, but I think he pulled it off pretty well,” said teammate Love. “Just smothers the building and the team. We were definitely disappointed to lose Evan, be it for a game, two games, three games, whatever it is. We just have to keep fighting and hope he recovers quickly and can be with us again because he means so much to the team.”
At the time of Mobley’s injury, the Cavs were leading the Magic 47-35. Orlando went on a 14-4 run immediately after Mobley’s elimination. The Magic beat Cleveland 18-13 in the final 5-11 of the second quarter. Despite Orlando’s late quarter surge, the Cavs scored 60 points in the first half, took the lead at the break and clinched a much-needed triumph late on.
“They kept sticking together and fighting for each other,” Cavs coach JB Bickerstaff said after the game. “The injuries take a toll on you mentally and can be a distraction and with that distraction we complicated the game to a point where we didn’t have to. I thought that if we keep doing the simple things over and over again, we’ll get positive results. We found a way.”
During a team briefing Sunday afternoon, Bickerstaff spoke to the group about playing with more freedom and exuberance. Sensing a tight-knit team putting too much pressure on themselves during that late-season playoff race, Bickerstaff wanted his players to come into Monday night with sane minds and fresh prospects.
The meeting worked. The Cavs led by 20 points in the first half and looked more like one of their preseason shows. The downturn only started when Mobley hobbled away.
First-time All-Star Darius Garland had a game-high 25 points, 12 assists and three steals with 7 of 17 from the field, 5 of 10 from 3-point range and 6 of 6 from the free throw line. It’s his 26th double-double this season and his 10th in March. Garland poured in seven of those points in the fourth quarter, including back-to-back buckets that gave the Cavs an eight-point cushion with 2:25 remaining.
“Darius is a closer and he has the ability to take any shots whether it’s the rim, center, floaters, off-the-bounce, catch-and-shoots,” Bickerstaff said of Garland. “You look at teams that are winning and most of those games are in the fourth quarter, they have a closer relationship and Darius is at that level and it’s an elite level.”
Lauri Markkanen, who shrugged off a knee injury in the second half, added 20 points. Love, who started the second half in Mobley’s place, contributed 19 points on 7 of 15 from the field and 4 of 12 from behind the arc.
“It’s an emotional boost for our boys,” Bickerstaff said when asked about Love’s impact. “You can see how our boys feel about Kevin and how much they support him and how much they just want to see him succeed. Going back to earlier in the year, they understood the sacrifice he made in moving to the bench and accepting that role to help the team. They couldn’t be happier for him when he gets it rolling and then the crowd gets behind him and gives us even more lift.”
Orlando used a balanced scoring effort to stay close throughout – a game that featured 14 lead changes and eight draws. The Magic had seven players hit double digits, led by Wendell Carter Jr. with 15 points.
The Cavs started the night without four players — Collin Sexton (season-ending knee surgery), Dean Wade (season-ending knee surgery), Rajon Rondo (sprained ankle) and Jarrett Allen (broken left middle finger). Wade, who has been struggling with knee pain for several weeks, underwent surgery on his partially torn meniscus early Monday morning. There were many other absences throughout the season.
Mobley became the latest addition to that endless list of injuries. It could be a crushing blow to the team’s playoff chances if Mobley is out for an extended period.
“I don’t know if there was another team that went through what we went through — Caris (LeVert) is out and Lauri is out and DG is out whoever it may be,” Love said. “We’ve had guys who come up and play well, but we’re the kind of team where our strength of the team is the team. When we are whole, we are just so much better.”
Monday was a portrait of the season. It was fun, exciting basketball mixed with some ugliness and stingy defense. It resulted in a win. But it wasn’t easy and it was done under a dark cloud of injury uncertainty.
Even on a night when the Cavs won their 42nd game, setting a winning record for the first time since 1998 without LeBron James, they couldn’t fully enjoy it.
Death, Taxes and Cavs Injuries. The only certainties.
Next
The Cavs will wrap up their homestand with a matchup against the Dallas Mavericks Wednesday night. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m
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