Photo: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images
BROOKLYN, NY--- WOW, what a game Wednesday night in Brooklyn, the Cavs got a huge road win thanks to a last second 3 pointer from Donovan Mitchell with 14 seconds left in the game. This road win is the first time the Cavs have won a season opener on the road since 2000, coincidentally, that was against the Nets. Max Strus was also a standout in his Cavs debut, Strus scored 27 points on 7 3 pointers.
Strus would nail 2 of his 7 3 pointers in the first quarter. Strus stayed hot all first half, nailing 3 in a row at the 5:42 mark. Strus would also finish with 12 rebounds and 2 assists. Not only was Strus loving the 3 ball early, but so was the whole team, making 5 3 pointers in the first quarter. One aspect the Cavs did struggle in was bench points, the Cavs bench was outscored by Brooklyn's bench 65-17. The Nets' bench was led by Cam Thomas with 36 points. Isaac Okoro got the start in place of an injured Jarrett Allen and he was all over the court with very valuable minutes. Okoro finished with 18 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists, Okoro was all over the court all night playing stellar defense.
The Cavs did start to struggle a bit in the 4th quarter, playing from behind for a good amount of time. Strus would continue to provide key 3 pointers in the second half, with both teams going back and forth throughout the quarter, in the last few minutes the game was extremely tight, in the last minute, Donovan Mitchell emerged as the clutch player he is known to be with 2 very key plays. The first would come with 41 seconds left in the game, Mitchell would come up with a very important steal, but was unfortunately later called for a questionable loose ball foul to send Mikal Bridges to the line where he made both free throws with 19 seconds left in the game. The second, and most important was a HUGE 3 pointer off a timeout with 12 seconds left to make the score 114-113. Cleveland then locked it down on defense and secured the win.
All 5 Cavs starters were in double figures Wednesday night with Mitchell scoring 27, Strus finishing with 27, Mobley finishing with 10, Garland finishing with 15, and Isaac Okoro finishing with 18. Keep up with the Cavs all season long on your flagship for Cavaliers basketball, Newsradio WTAM 1100