Cleveland Cavaliers clinch playoffs with easy win over Houston Rockets

Cleveland Cavaliers secure playoff seed

The Cleveland Cavaliers successfully clinched their first playoff spot in five years following an easy, 108-91 blowout victory over the Houston Rockets. After four straight wins, the Cavs also improve their chances for homecourt advantage in the East by improving to 48-28 in the standings.

The end result hardly ever truly came into question, with Cleveland jumping into a double-digit advantage late in the opening quarter and never relinquishing their lead. There were a few anxious minutes after complacency seemingly allowed Houston to come back and cut the difference to just five late in the third period.

Jarrett Allen led the way with a massive double-double of 24 points and 14 boards to go with three blocked shots a frontcourt partner Evan Mobley chipped in with 19 of his own while matching Allen’s blocks total in another dominant showing.

Donovan Mitchell also added 22 markers in the win that pushed the Cavaliers to secure their first playoff berth since 2018–the final year of the LeBron James era when the team reached the NBA Finals for their fourth appearance in as many years.

On the other end, Jalen Green scored a game-high 30 points in a hot shooting night that amounted to nothing in another losing effort for the Rockets.

The Cavs could be peaking at the right time

Now that Cleveland locks into their first playoff berth in the post-LeBron James era–in front of their raucous, sell-out home crowd no less, securing a higher seed and home-court advantage should be the next priority.

No doubt the entire team will sigh a breath of relief, especially with nightmares of last year’s late collapse that led the team to crash out after losing both play-in tournament games against tonight’s opponents the Nets, and the Atlanta Hawks, the young team needs to secure every edge they could get.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are now comfortably 5.5 games ahead of the fifth-seeded New York Knicks and will look to try and climb further up the standings when they hit the road to visit the Atlanta Hawks on March 28.