CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Cavaliers fell 114-104 to the Houston Rockets.
Grades are based on our expectations for each player.
Donovan Mitchell
21 points, 2 assists, 3 rebounds
Mitchell took a minute to get going in this one. But when he did, the results were electric. Mitchell rattled off an incredible run of scoring in the fourth quarter, burying triples and knifing his way into Houston’s defense for points in the paint.
De’Andre Hunter
25 points, 2 assists, 4 rebounds
The Cavs likely could have used more of Hunter. He was one of the only players who had his shot falling. Hunter had a team-high 25 points on only 10 field goal attempts.
Evan Mobley
18 points, 0 assists, 6 rebounds
Mobley had success nestling his way into the paint and scoring against Houston’s defense. Had he been more accurate from the free-throw line (4-10 shooting), this would have been a great game. Zero assists and three turnovers weren’t great either.
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Nae’Qwan Tomlin
10 points, 0 assists, 2 rebounds
Tomlin earned his first NBA start tonight and made a big difference in the first half. He tracked down multiple offensive rebounds and made some clever cuts to the basket for easy scoring.
Jarrett Allen
8 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists
Allen had his hands full against an elite rotation of Houston bigs. He did enough to hold his own and contributed to a huge third-quarter run. If his dunk over Sengun had counted, it would have boosted him a full letter grade.
Lonzo Ball
7 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds
Ball is starting to show how impactful he can be for the Cavs. His defense caused a momentum shift tonight, with back-to-back three-pointers to break the monotony of what had otherwise been another sluggish night for Cleveland’s offense.
Craig Porter Jr.
9 points, 5 assists, 7 rebounds
This was more of the same from Porter. He’s strung together a quality month of games, and tonight was no different. His extra effort on the glass is worth noting.
4 points, 3 assists, 7 rebounds
Wade had a tough night offensively. But his switchable defense is what helped the Cavs make this game competitive in the second half. That makes this a hard one to grade. So, I’m marking a first for Fear the Sword and splitting it.
Offensive Grade: D+
Defensive Grade: A+