Cleveland Cavaliers rebound with rout over Memphis Grizzlies at home

Cleveland Cavaliers dominate at weary opponents

The Cleveland Cavaliers bounced back from another frustrating loss with a dominant 128-113 victory over the weary Memphis Grizzlies team. With the blowout win, the Cavs improve to 22-6 at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse and 32-22 overall.

With superstar guard Donovan Mitchell getting tossed alongside Memphis swingman due to a third-quarter scuffle, the Cavaliers once again relied on Darius Garland, as he finished with 30 points and 11 assists for his 15th double-double of the season to help lead the team to yet another a ‘Cavalanche’ at home.

Cleveland took full advantage of the fact that Memphis had been playing on the tail end of a back-to-back and blew the game wide open in the second half, seemingly gotten more fired up right after Mitchell and Brooks were ejected for the near-brawl.

Six Cavs players tallied double-figures in another balanced scoring attack, with all starters getting there apart from Mitchell. On the other hand, Desmond Bane, Ja Morant, and Santi Aldama also combined for 70 markers for the Grizzlies in the loss.

The Cavs need to stay consistent going forward

Apart from the starters doing their part, Cleveland also benefitted greatly from the bench mob of Cedi Osman and Ricky Rubio. The European duo put up a combined 34 points, eight assists, and four steals and were instrumental during the massive run in the second half.

However, consistency is still an issue for this young team since ringing in the new year, as they have yet to win consecutive games since the first week of January. Alternating wins and losses is undoubtedly not a mark of a legitimate playoff-contending team, and they need to figure it out to avoid the risk of falling all the way back into the play-in territory.

Still holding firm in fifth place and just half a game behind the Brooklyn Nets, the Cleveland Cavaliers should look to actively pursue a top-three spot in the competitive Eastern Conference to have a better chance for a deep postseason run. They’ll have some time off prior to getting back on the road with a visit to division rivals Indiana Pacers on February 5.