Cleveland Oh. – The Cavs were undermanned, or so it seemed. Playing without All Star Donovan Mitchell AND Caris LeVert, THE Cavs beat the Denver Nuggets 121-109. A big third quarter from Jarrett Allen, and a career high night from Craig Porter Jr. led the Cavs.
The Cavs started the game shooting 4/6 from three in the first quarter. They ended the first 4/8, but the tone had been set. The second quarter saw Craig Porter start to settle in and he scored 11 of his 21 in the first half, 8 in the second quarter. Darius Garland led the Cavs first half charge with 16 as the Cavs took a 66-58 lead into half time.
CPJ said "we're having a sunday FUNday".@craigporter0 | #LetEmKnow pic.twitter.com/ZlDsonTZba
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) November 20, 2023
The second half was when the Cavs blew this game open. Jarrett Allen went at Nikola Jokic, scoring the first 8 points of the quarter, and drawing two straight offensive fouls from the MVP, the second of which ended up as a flagrant foul 1 and sat Jokic down. Allen finished the quarter with 13 points, as the Cavs opened up their lead to 92-75 heading into the fourth. The fourth quarter saw the Cavs keep the pressure on the Nuggets as Craig Porter and Darius Garland closed the door for the Cavs. It was a great night for the team to gauge where they are. The Cavs answered the call. Jokic still almost had a triple double as he finished with 18/10/7, but the frustration of Allen’s defense made those somewhat empty stats.
Photo via Cleveland Cavaliers
Overall, the Cavs have a lot to be proud of tonight. They were able to take the defending champs and blow them out. They got contributions from everyone who played significant minutes. Even Sam Merrill made three threes enroute to 9 points. Four out of five starters scored in double figures, and the one who didn’t, Dean Wade, grabbed 10 rebounds. Just a complete team effort tonight. The Cavs will look to continue their winning ways when they take on the 76ers on Tuesday in the In Season Tournament. The Cavs are 1-1 with a +3-point differential.
The Cavs started the season slowly due to injuries. But it’s nice to see the team is able to withstand injuries now. As the season wears on, the young guys will get opportunities. And on a night like tonight, Craig Porter Jr was able to seize the opportunity and have his first career high night. Let’s see where he goes from here!
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