LOS ANGELES — Forget Monday night in Denver. Who cares about back-to-back wins against a pair of playoff teams?
That was coach J.B. Bickerstaff’s message to the Cleveland Cavaliers heading into Wednesday’s showdown against the Los Angeles Clippers. The NBA is filled with nightly tests. The Cavs passed another one, beating Los Angeles, 92-79, in a game they never trailed, staying perfect on this chemistry-building but immensely-difficult road trip through a gantlet of contenders.
It’s Cleveland’s first road win versus the Clippers since 2016.
“They’re creating that identity of who they are and how we’re going to play and it’s like, they want more, they want more and they want more,” Bickerstaff said following the win. “We’re early so I don’t want to jump the gun here, but their attitude has been like trying to quench that thirst. That’s the thing to me that’s been the most impressive is we’ve grown from winning a game and then coming out the next night and not knowing what to do to now, we started to translate and build on top of it. I think that’s more impressive than anything to me.”
Behind a fast, physical and active defense with unique size Los Angeles couldn’t match and didn’t often challenge around the rim, the Cavs smothered the Clippers throughout.
The tone was set quickly. The Cavs held Los Angeles to 14 points on 19% from the field in the first quarter. The Clippers ended the night shooting 35.6% from the field and 22% from 3-point range. Clearly concerned with Cleveland’s rim protection, nearly half of Los Angeles’ shot attempts came from deep. They were also forced into 14 turnovers. Clippers leading scorer Paul George, averaging 28.0 points in the first three games, was held to 12 on just 6-of-20 shooting.
“That floor is crowded,” Bickerstaff said. “That allows us to challenge shots, force tough shots. You see guys pump-faking ghosts right now, because they think somebody’s coming to challenge or block a shot.”
Despite some of its own offensive woes, fourth-year guard Collin Sexton helped provide the needed boost. He poured in 26 points on 12-of-21 shooting. One of Sexton’s makes — a thunderous, left-handed transition dunk over Nicolas Batum — caught LeBron James’ attention from afar. The NBA superstar gave “Young Bull” — Sexton’s nickname — a shoutout on Twitter.
“That’s big time,” Sexton said of James’ praise.
Darius Garland chipped in with 16 points while veteran Ricky Rubio helped thwart two pushes from the Clippers in the second half. Rubio finished with 15 points.
Rookie Evan Mobley (12 points and 10 rebounds) and Kevin Love (10 points and 10 boards) both recorded double-doubles.
It was Mobley’s first NBA game in Southern California, less than two miles from his old college campus — USC — and about 90 miles away from Rancho Christian High School in Temecula, where he started blossoming into this remarkable, skilled, versatile big man who looks capable of altering Cleveland’s trajectory.
Mobley purchased around 15 tickets. His father, Eric, an assistant coach for the USC men’s basketball team, was sitting courtside along the baseline nearest Clippers’ bench in his son’s wine-colored jersey. Mobley’s brother, Isaiah, who will likely join Evan in the NBA next season, was also in attendance.
The homecoming party began early.
On Cleveland’s first possession, Lauri Markkanen rattled out a 3-pointer. Mobley soared over Clippers center Ivica Zubac for a put-back dunk — and the game’s first points. Welcome back to SoCal.
“It felt great to be back home,” Mobley said. “Just the crowd out there, had a lot of family cheering for me. So it just felt great to play in front of them and then also feel great to get the dub out here.”
How bad did things get for the Clippers, who pulled within three twice in the third quarter before fading? Superfan Clipper Darrell was silent for most of the second half and the loudest cheer for the home team came after Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen missed a pair of fourth-quarter free throws, giving the crowd free Chick-Fil-A.
Ah yes, moral victories. The Cavs remember those days. Are they a thing of the past? Is this resurgence real?
Bickerstaff said Wednesday’s test was consistency. Could the Cavs build on what they did Monday in Denver and, to a lesser extent, over the weekend against Atlanta? Could they continue to sharpen daily habits and lean on this newfound defensive identity? After all, consistency is the mark of a good team.
That’s three straight wins. That’s … consistency.
Up next
The Cavs will play the other Los Angeles team — James’ Lakers at Staples Center on Friday night. Tipoff is set for 10:30 p.m.
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