The Cleveland Cavaliers may still be figuring things out with their new-look roster, but Saturday night gave fans a glimpse of the ceiling this team could reach when the pieces click - and it clicked when it mattered most. Donovan Mitchell and James Harden combined for 32 points in the fourth quarter, powering the Cavs to a 132-126 win over the Sacramento Kings in a game that started disjointed but ended with fireworks.
Let’s be clear: the early returns weren’t pretty. The Mitchell-Harden pairing looked like two stars trying to be polite - too polite.
The offense stalled, the ball swung around the perimeter without purpose, and off-ball movement was nearly nonexistent. It felt like everyone was waiting for someone else to take charge.
That uncertainty trickled down to the rest of the starting five, which featured a four-guard lineup with Craig Porter Jr., Sam Merrill, and Harden joining Mitchell, with Jarrett Allen as the lone big. That group struggled to rebound and paid the price, surrendering 27 second-chance points to a hungry Kings squad.
But basketball is a game of runs, and the Cavs found theirs thanks to a spark from the bench. Once the rotations tightened and Mitchell and Harden settled in, the tide turned - and fast.
Harden knocked down back-to-back threes late in the fourth, the second coming off a crisp swing pass from Mitchell. It was the kind of possession that shows why Cleveland made the move to bring Harden in.
When both stars are engaged and in rhythm, defenses are forced to pick their poison. That kind of synergy doesn’t happen overnight, but in that fourth quarter, we saw what it could look like when it does.
And then there’s Jarrett Allen - the unsung hero of the night. Allen was dominant, finishing with 29 points on a near-perfect 11-of-12 shooting, grabbing 10 rebounds, and showing exactly why his role is so vital in this new setup.
Harden made a concerted effort to get Allen involved early, and the results speak for themselves. Few guards in the league are better at feeding their bigs than Harden, whose size, vision, and touch allow him to hit his rollers in stride and in space.
“In the pick-and-roll, I feel like he found every opportunity to exploit it,” Allen said postgame. “Even if it wasn’t a pass to me, we were just creating action, creating gravity for players to bring it to us.”
That gravity matters. Harden’s ability to draw defenders and make the right read opens up the floor for Allen to operate in the short roll - an area where he’s quietly become one of the more efficient bigs in the league. Whether it’s a soft touch floater, a quick dish to the corner, or even a post fadeaway (yes, he hit one), Allen looked like a player completely in sync with his point guard.
Cleveland’s offense will benefit tremendously from this partnership. Harden may no longer be the MVP-level scorer he once was, but he still commands attention - especially when teams throw doubles at him.
His patience and passing out of those situations create easy looks for Allen, Porter Jr., and others in the short roll. That’s going to be a major asset, especially when Harden is anchoring bench units or sharing the floor with Mitchell.
Now, Harden’s debut wasn’t flawless. He looked like a guy still learning the playbook and feeling out his role.
He was passive in the first half, hesitant to attack the paint, and didn’t attempt a single shot at the rim until the closing minutes - when the Kings were forced to foul. That lack of aggression limited his trips to the free-throw line (just two attempts), and if Harden’s going to be a consistent scoring threat, he’ll need to get downhill more often.
Still, even without peak explosiveness or full rhythm, Harden finished with 23 points on 7-of-13 shooting, along with eight assists and two rebounds. More importantly, he was the engine behind Cleveland’s late-game push. That matters.
Defensively, the Cavs had their issues - especially early - but Keon Ellis gave them a much-needed jolt on that end. In just 17 minutes, Ellis racked up three steals and a block, constantly disrupting Sacramento’s rhythm.
He’s got a rare blend of on-ball tenacity and off-ball instincts, and his +20 plus/minus reflected just how impactful he was. It’s no coincidence that he was on the floor to close the game.
Dennis Schroder also made his presence felt. The veteran guard brought energy and pace, attacking the paint and creating offense in ways the Cavs have sorely missed from the backup point guard spot.
He tallied seven points and four assists in just 17 minutes and posted a game-high +22. That kind of production is hard to ignore - and hard to keep off the floor.
Which brings us to the rotation. It’s a work in progress, and that’s to be expected with new pieces still integrating.
Head coach Kenny Atkinson appears to be experimenting with different combinations, and it’s understandable that he wants to reward Craig Porter Jr. for his recent strong play. But when Ellis and Schroder are making the kind of impact they did in limited minutes, it raises questions about minute distribution - especially when both Mitchell and Harden are logging heavy time.
Speaking of Mitchell, let’s not lose sight of who this team runs through. Even while deferring early, Mitchell reminded everyone in the second half that this is still his squad. He dropped 29 points after the break on 11-of-16 shooting, confidently taking over in crunch time and making big plays when the Cavs needed them most.
After the game, Harden made it clear that he knows his role. Speaking to sideline reporter Serena Winters, he called Mitchell “the leader of the team” and said he’s here to “support him and do whatever it takes to help.”
That’s the kind of mindset Cleveland needs from its new addition. The chemistry between Harden and Mitchell is still developing, but the fourth quarter offered a promising preview. If they can build on that - and if Allen continues to thrive in the Harden-led pick-and-roll - this Cavs team might be more dangerous than people realize.
It wasn’t perfect. But it was enough to win. And more importantly, it showed what’s possible.