The Cleveland Cavaliers continue to be arguably the hottest team in the NBA. They defeated the Washington Wizards by a final score of 114-106 to extend their win streak to seven straight. As to be expected, Donovan Mitchell was the player of the game as he poured in 40 points, 14 of which came in the fourth quarter. The Wizards put up a valiant effort despite being heavy underdogs. This was a game that saw plenty of great performances, but at the end of the night, the Cleveland Cavaliers simply outmatched the struggling Washington Wizards. Cleveland continues to make a case that they are legitimate title contenders this year.
Cavaliers Extend Win Streak Behind Donovan Mitchell’s 40 Point Outing
Notable Performers From Cleveland’s Side
Evan Mobley was another solid player from this game. He added 22 points on nine of 10 shooting from the field. Donovan Mitchell also weighed in on the recent team success after the game.
“I keep saying it, it’s February 7th,” Mitchell said. “This is great, we’re in a great position. But at the end of the day, we’re trying to play until April, be in the best position (then). Definitely not satisfied with where we’re at.”
Mitchell also had this to say postgame:
“For us, we didn’t start out well, we didn’t play our best basketball,” Mitchell said. “For us to kind of still know that, acknowledge that, and being able to fix it … it’s something to fall back on, understanding that we have a foundation.”
Head coach, J.B. Bickerstaff, was complimentary on his team defense and how they made life hard Washington’s, Jordan Poole.
“I think we just do our best to try and make it as difficult as we can on him,” said Cleveland coach J.B. Bickerstaff, whose team has held Poole to 3 of 20 from the floor in three games. “We throw different lineups at him, different matchups. Our big guys do a great job of protecting, but guys have taken an individual challenge on him.”
Darius Garland was also back in this matchup and logged 13 points and a box plus/minus rating of +9, which was the best total in this regard out of all the starters. At the end of the night though, Donovan Mitchell was the spark that propelled the Cavaliers to their seventh straight win keeping them in second place in the Eastern Conference.
Notable Washington Wizards Performers
While Jordan Poole massively struggled, a couple of other players picked up the slack. The Wizards were in it the whole game as neither team led by more than seven points until the final minute of the fourth quarter. The leading scorer for Washington was Kyle Kuzma who scored 28 points on 11 for 24 shooting from the field. Corey Kispert was also an x-factor as he logged 23 points off the bench to go along with seven total rebounds and an impressive three-point shooting percentage of 44.4 percent. The Wizards hung with the red-hot Cavaliers all game long in a valiant effort. However, Cleveland had too much talent when it was all said and done as they continue their impressive win streak.
