Cleveland– With a thrilling 116-114 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday night, the Cleveland Cavaliers made team history and continued their rise in NBA record books.
The Cavs tied the franchises record with an 8-0 start to the season, setting themselves up with a chance to break the record Wednesday night in New Orleans.
They also became the 32nd team in NBA history with eight straight victory to start a season.
A win against the Pelicans will put them in the top 20 best starts in league history.
It wasn’t just that the Cavs won again on Monday night, it’s the way they did it.
With five different players scoring in double-digits by halftime, the Cavs were clicking on all cylinders, shooting 10-15 from three.
Up 13 at the half, Cleveland seemed destined to cruise to their sixth blowout win of the season.
Instead, the Bucks stormed back in the second half, taking a two-point lead going into the fourth quarter, 91-89, and leading by eight with under six minutes to go.
The Cavs were out of gas. It was a tough way for their winning streak to end but still admirable.
Nope.
Cleveland just wouldn’t be denied.
The comeback in the final minutes was led by Darius Garland, who finished with 39 points, including nine in a row as the Cavs re-took the lead with under two minutes to go.
It looked like 2021-2022 with Garland playing like a certified top five-point guard in the league and Jarrett Allen being his perfect running mate.
Allen was the only other Cavalier to score in those final minutes and had a huge block with 12 seconds to go that sealed the deal.
Allen finished with 14 points, 15 rebounds and 6 assist.
It was a vintage Cavs effort in the second half of this one and shows another reason why this team is so scary.
They have four true, at minimum, all-star level players who can take over games on any given night.
After scoring a season-high 73 first half points, the Cavs scored just 16 points in the third quarter.
It was the first time all season they scored less than 20 in a quarter.
Donovan Mitchell scored a season-low 14 points.
Cleveland blew a 17-point lead and trailed by three possessions late in the game.
The Cavaliers are still undefeated.
Every win isn’t going to be a blowout or cake walk. Adversity will hit. Teams will go cold.
Cleveland is showing that they can still find ways to win through all of that.
This is no longer a fluky hot start. The Cleveland Cavaliers are no-questions-asked contenders to win the NBA title.
There is something special going on with this Cavaliers team, and chances are, this is only the beginning.
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