The Cavaliers continue to lead the NBA standings with a 47-10 record in the Eastern Conference, and just signed their seventh-consecutive victory on Sunday as they beat the Grizzlies 129-123, led by Donovan Mitchell’s game-high 33 points and Evan Mobley’s 25 points, 13 rebounds and 8 assists.
Cleveland‘s biggest contributions also came from Ty Jerome, who hit 15 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter. The Ohio team now own the longest-active winning streak in the league, and have made Rocket Arena their stronghold this campaign, holding an almost impenetrable 27-4 mark.
The team, who is playing without All-Star guard Darius Garland, clashed against the second-best team in the West that has lost three of their last four outings. This matchup featured the two highest-scoring squads in the NBA, with the Cavs averaging 122.9 points and the Grizzlies at 122.8.
One of the most exciting moments of Sunday’s clash came when tensions escalated midway through the third quarter. With only 7:25 left on the clock, and Cleveland up by three points, Mitchell got tangled with Desmond Bane while fighting for a loose ball which was originally in the Cavs guard’s hands.
The situation heated up pretty fast, with other players like Ja Morant and Tristan Thompson joining the scramble, which ended up resulting in technical fouls for all of these players before referees finally got ahold of the game. “To be honest, as a group, we’ve been there as a group before against that exact team,” Donovan said.
He then added: “Max [Strus] came out, set the tone, hit the shot, and we just went on a run after that. Credit to them—they continued to push back and what not. But for us, it’s just who we are… it’s competitive basketball.”
As for Desmond, he recalled the play as something normal between fierce competitors. “Just two competitive guys wrestling for a ball,” Bane assured postgame. “I didn’t think it was anything more than that.”
