James Harden gave Cleveland exactly the kind of night it has been waiting for.
In the Cavaliers’ feel-good win over the New York Knicks, Harden was the engine from the start and the finisher when it mattered most. He piled up 32 points, added four assists, two rebounds and two steals, and put together his best half of the season by scoring 17 points while knocking down 3 of 5 from deep in the opening quarters. Cleveland has been missing that kind of burst from its starting point guard, and on this night he supplied it with the kind of one-on-one shot-making that can tilt a game.
The bigger picture was just as encouraging. The Cavs’ offense stayed steady because Harden kept creating clean looks out of isolation.
Even at 37, he still has the ability to turn the temperature up and take over a game when the possession breaks down. If that version shows up consistently, there’s a real runway here.
Donovan Mitchell also played a major role in the closing stretch, finishing with 23 points, seven rebounds and six assists. After last week’s loss to New York, Mitchell said he feels he’s taken strides as a playmaker, and that showed up in a way that went beyond the box score. In the fourth quarter, he handled the Knicks’ traps with patience, accepted the double team, and moved the ball to a release valve so Cleveland could keep generating advantages late.
Jarrett Allen did his part inside with 11 points, 14 rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block. He shot 4-for-7 and punctuated the night with an and-one dunk that slammed the door shut. His work on the glass mattered too, as Cleveland won the rebound battle 40-34.
Evan Mobley’s line was quieter: 10 points, five rebounds, three assists and a block. The offense never really flowed through him, and there were stretches where his passivity stood out, especially when he had a smaller defender in front of him.
Still, the game leaned heavily toward the perimeter, with Mitchell, Harden, Proctor and Thomas combining for 52 of the team’s 85 shot attempts, so Mobley never got much of a chance to shape the rhythm himself. His defensive effort kept his night on the positive side.
Tyrese Proctor turned in one of the best performances of his young career, scoring 15 points on 6-for-12 shooting while also giving Cleveland strong work on the perimeter. He stayed connected through screens and helped keep the Knicks from getting free off the ball. Meleek Thomas added 14 points, four rebounds, one assist and two steals, and even flashed the kind of confidence that can swing a game, including a half-spin fallaway jumper in his first stint.
Peyton Watson didn’t have it going offensively, finishing 2-for-12 for seven points, but he made his presence felt on defense with five rebounds, four assists and four blocks. He rejected multiple three-point attempts and also blocked Deuce McBride in transition to help Cleveland finish things off.
Mario Hezonja had a rough night in limited minutes, going scoreless with one steal and one block in seven minutes. New York’s movement off the ball kept him off balance, and the matchup was a tough one for him to settle into.
Jaylon Tyson returned for his first game since October after missing the previous six with an ankle injury and finished with three points, one assist and one block. There wasn’t much to pull from the outing beyond the need for him to get his jumper going and settle in defensively as he works back into form.
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James Harden has been part of that conversation, and so has Peyton Watson, whose play has slipped from what he gave last season. When the production from important additions and veterans falls off at the same time, the pressure inevitably rolls uphill, and Atkinsons margin for error may not stay wide for long if Cleveland cannot find some traction soon. [Read more 🡒]
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Mitchell has long shown he can carry more of the initiation load, and Cleveland may be leaning into that strength as it tries to settle on a more efficient formula. The broader question is how the Cavs balance roles around him, with the staff continuing to test different looks in hopes of finding an arrangement that unlocks the groups best version. [Read more 🡒]