Evan Mobley collected 23 points and 16 rebounds as the Cleveland Cavaliers, who trailed by 13 early in the fourth quarter, extended their season-opening winning streak to 11 games with a 105-100 victory over the visiting Brooklyn Nets on Saturday night.
Cleveland became the first team to open a season 11-0 since the Golden State Warriors won their first 24 games in 2015-16 en route to a 73-9 finish. The Cavaliers earned their fifth single-digit victory of the campaign on Saturday, facing their stiffest challenge to date after blowing a 15-point, first-half lead.
Donovan Mitchell added 22 points and Darius Garland contributed 20, and Cleveland outscored the Nets 35-18 in the fourth quarter and scored 26 of its 56 points in the paint in the final period. The Cavaliers shot 54.1 percent from the field for the game and made 14 of 18 shots (77.8 percent) in the final 12 minutes.
Dennis Schroder hit a triple to put Brooklyn up 85-72 just 46 seconds into the fourth quarter before Cleveland put together its ferocious rally.
Cameron Johnson had 23 points while Schroder and Cam Thomas added 22 apiece for the Nets, who took the Boston Celtics to overtime on Friday.
Brooklyn held a 96-89 lead with 4:24 left in the game following a 3 by Johnson, but the Cavaliers outscored the Nets 16-4 the rest of the way.
The Cavaliers took their first lead since early in the third quarter on two Garland free throws with 2:31 left in the fourth and later answered two free throws by Schroder with a tough runner by Garland in the lane with 84 seconds remaining, making it 101-98 Cleveland.
After Thomas sank an 11-footer with 65 seconds to go, Cleveland’s Ty Jerome hit a short jumper with 46.2 seconds left and Schroder missed a contested 3 with 29.8 seconds remaining. Mitchell hit two free throws to seal the win.
Cleveland took a 52-37 lead on Garland’s 3-pointer with 6:30 remaining in the second quarter, but the Nets ended the first half with an 18-5 run to get within 57-55. Brooklyn scored the first 15 points of the third quarter to build a 70-57 cushion.
Mitchell hit four threes and scored 15 points in the first quarter to lift Cleveland to a 34-28 lead by the end of the frame. The Cavaliers went 12-for-16 from the floor in the stanza.
Zach LaVine helps Bulls rally past Hawks in return
Zach LaVine returned to the lineup to score 18 points and sparked a late rally to help the visiting Chicago Bulls overcome a 17-point second-half deficit and defeat the Atlanta Hawks 125-113 on Saturday to end their four-game losing streak.
LaVine, who had missed the last three games with a right adductor strain, returned on restricted minutes and shot 7-for-12 from the floor with seven assists. He scored two baskets during a 7-0 run to stretch Chicago’s lead from one to eight points late in the fourth quarter.
Chicago outscored the Hawks 35-15 in the fourth quarter. The teams play again on Nov. 22 in Chicago.
The Bulls trailed 101-92 with 10:34 left but outscored the Hawks 12-0, taking their first lead of the game on Jalen Smith’s dunk at 8:04 and upping it to 104-101 on a runner by Patrick Williams with 7:35 left. Atlanta, already playing short-handed, ran out of gas on the second night of a back-to-back set.
The balanced Bulls had eight players score in double figures. Ayo Dosunmu had 19 points, Nikola Vucevic and Coby White each scored 18, Josh Giddey added 13 and Williams, Smith and Julian Phillips each scored 10. Vucevic added 12 rebounds.
The Hawks got 20 points each from Jalen Johnson and Clint Capela, who had nine rebounds. Zaccharie Risacher scored 17 and Trae Young had 14 points and 16 assists.
Clippers nip Raptors, extend win streak to four games
Norman Powell and James Harden each scored 24 points, and the Los Angeles Clippers sent the visiting Toronto Raptors to their third consecutive loss to start their five-game road trip, 105-103, on Saturday.
Powell scored 11 points in the fourth quarter, including a 3-pointer with 2:02 remaining that extended the Clippers’ lead to five points.
Los Angeles needed every bit of that advantage, as Toronto’s Immanuel Quickley scored five points in a 7-2 run that tied the game at 102 with 39 seconds to go in regulation.
Quickley had 12 points in the fourth quarter and matched Ochai Agbaji with a team-high 21. However, both players made a critical miscue down the stretch that opened the door for Los Angeles.
Agbaji fouled Powell, leading to a go-ahead free throw with 36 seconds left. Quickley then missed a would-be, go-ahead layup on the Raptors’ ensuing possession. Harden and Powell each split a pair of foul shots in the closing seconds to help seal the win.
The Clippers extended their winning streak to four games.
Harden added 12 rebounds and a game-high seven assists. Kevin Porter Jr. came off the bench to register 15 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Ivica Zubac added 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Clippers. Zubac also blocked three shots and made two steals as Los Angeles limited Toronto to 42.1 percent (40-of-95) shooting from the floor.