CLEVELAND, Ohio — What break?
The surging Cavs picked up where they left off more than a week ago, crushing the lottery-bound Brooklyn Nets, 112-84, on Thursday night inside Rocket Arena.
“This is a professional performance,” Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said. “We handled our business, especially going into a back-to-back. We’ve got some catching up to do here and we got a sprint here at the end. This is a good start, good first game out of the box.”
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There’s typically a level of uncertainty coming out of the All-Star break.
Did the break halt the team’s momentum? Will players be sluggish? Rusty? Unfocused? Rhythmless?
The answer was an emphatic no. To every possible question.
Thursday night was a 48-minute dissection.
Celebrating the return of Evan Mobley and Dean Wade while using their 27th different starting lineup this season — one Atkinson hopes will be a constant — the Cavs extended their winning streak to a season-high six games.
They have yet to lose since the transformational James Harden acquisition on Feb. 4 — a move that supercharged the offense, heightened belief and lifted the team’s collective spirit.
“They know we got something good going on,” Atkinson boasted. “We brought in guys that are going to help us. Now we’ve got to confirm it, right? I’m not going to sit up here after four games or whatever and say we’re this juggernaut. We still have a lot to prove. But I think the early returns with our spirit and our confidence and our aggressiveness is really good.”
Entering the night as 16.5-point favorites, the Cavs scored the first four points, forcing a miffed Jordi Fernandez to call timeout just 41 seconds into the game.
Fernandez sensed it early. He tried to stop the oncoming onslaught. But it was pointless. The Nets were helpless.
Cleveland raced out to an 8-0 lead before Brooklyn scored its first basket. By the end of the first quarter — one dotted with Cavalier precision, theatrics, acrobatics, synergy and brilliance — Cleveland was up by 18 points.
The Cavs shot a blistering 61.9% from the field and 57.1% from 3-point range in the first quarter.
The only question: How bad would it get for overmatched Brooklyn?
The short answer: Worse. Much worse.
Cleveland erupted for 36 second-quarter points, going ahead by 22 at the break — tied for its second-largest halftime lead this season.
The diff (to borrow the organization’s term that is plastered on Humongotron) reached 43 at one point in the third quarter, causing Atkinson to sprinkle in his non-regulars.
Seven Cavaliers reached double figures in scoring — a balanced attack led by All-Star Donovan Mitchell who finished with 17 points on 7 of 12 shooting.
Harden added 16 to go along with nine assists and five rebounds in 28 minutes.
Early in the game, Harden and Mitchell, Cleveland’s newest co-stars, linked up for a fast-break alley-oop that caused ecstasy inside the arena — the kind of connection first imagined weeks before the trade deadline and one that has Cleveland dreaming of a championship.
“It was crazy,” Wade said. “I was trailing the play. He threw it. I saw Don at first. Early. And then I looked as he threw the lob and I was like, ‘Where’s Don?’ I couldn’t even see him. I was like, ‘No way Don’s going to get this in traffic.’ Then all of a sudden Don jumped. I was running back on defense like, ‘Did that really just happen? Did that really just happen?’ It was impressive.”
Jarrett Allen recorded his fifth double-double in the last six games, tallying 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Mobley, playing for the first time since Jan. 26 because of a nagging calf strain, added 10 points and nine rebounds in 19 productive minutes.
“Definitely a little rust,” Atkinson said of Mobley. “I thought his second stint was better, got a little more groove. He obviously is on a minutes restriction, so it was not easy for him to get into a flow.”
Dennis Schroder (12 points), Jaylon Tyson (11) and Wade (11), the night’s fifth starter, also hit the double-digit mark.
The Nets were led by Michael Porter Jr. who had 14 points. Ochai Agbaji, once drafted by the Cavaliers and part of the Mitchell blockbuster in 2022, chipped in 13.
The midseason stoppage gave the Cavs a chance to get away. They needed it, given the exhausting, chaotic and sometimes-turbulent first half.
Mitchell was in L.A. for All-Star Weekend festivities. Mobley went home to bask in the sunshine. Merrill was on new-daddy duty. Allen spent the week in Texas getting a few home-cooked meals.
But when they reconvened, there was a level of focus and determination.
On Thursday night, the Cavaliers looked refreshed, rejuvenated, business-like and primed for a second-half ascension, maybe even to the top of the Eastern Conference.
Just how they looked before the brief respite.
It was exactly the way Cleveland wanted to start the second half.
With a tone-setting, wire-to-wire triumph.
“We’ve got a bigger picture,” Harden said pointedly. “Coach told us before the break, he said, ‘This is a different break. We’re preparing for something.’ So I think all the guys listened to him. They put the work in, and the comeback was seamless. Obviously, we’ve got a long way to go, but we’re heading in the right direction.”
Up next
The Cavs play the second game of a back-to-back Friday against the Charlotte Hornets. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
