Cavaliers let winnable game slip away vs. Nuggets

Five thoughts on the Cavs 115-109 loss to the Denver Nuggets

Jon Rudder | Feb 24, 2023

Cavaliers let winnable game slip away vs. Nuggets /

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Cleveland Cavaliers

Cavaliers’ head coach J.B. Bickerstaff didn’t feel like his team gave the Denver Nuggets their best shot in a 121-108 loss to the Denver Nuggets back on January 6th.

Would Thursday night’s rematch as the NBA restarted following the All-Star break be any different? The Wine and Gold went toe-to-toe with the best in the West in a back-and-forth game that featured 12 ties and 24 lead changes but fell 115-109 for their second-straight loss after winning seven in a row.

Nikola Jokic recorded a triple-double with 24 points, 18 rebounds and 13 assists. The Nuggets are 22-0 when Jokic records a triple-double this season. He’s every bit deserving of a third-straight MVP award this season.

Jokic secured his triple-double by the end of the third quarter, the seventh time he’s accomplished such this season.

The Cavs attempted to double-team Jokic, specifically when he was deep in the paint. The early results were a pair of steals as a guard dropped in and swiped his first two touches from his mammoth grasp.

But he commands SO much attention with his ability to pass, as evidence by his 13 assists. Double him and he’ll make the right pass, as he often did. When you have guys like Michael Porter Jr., who had 25 points and was 6-of-10 from three-point range it makes complicates how you defend. Kentavius Caldwell-Pope added 17 points.

Evan Mobley led all scorers with 31 points while Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland each added 22 points.

Despite Jokic and his triple-double, Cleveland outscored Denver in the paint 68-38. The Cavs entered the game allowing the third-fewest points in the paint per game in the NBA this season.

Only eight of those points came in the fourth quarter as the Cavs scored just 18 points as a team down.

“We had 60 points in the paint through three quarters and then fourth quarter we had eight,” Bickerstaff said. “We’ve got to continue to be aggressive. I thought their defense ramped up, give them credit. But I feel like we still had opportunities to attack the paint and be aggressive and they limited us there.”

It was a disappointing loss with the Cavs bolting from the arena to catch a flight for another game 24 hours later in Atlanta.

Five thoughts on the Cavs 115-109 loss to the Denver Nuggets.

The first quarter was a quagmire, littered with whistles and fouls.

The Cavs got into foul trouble early. Isaac Okoro was whistled for two quick infractions and immediately departed for the bench just four minutes into the game.

He wasn’t alone. Jarrett Allen and Dean Wade each whistled for two fouls midway through the first quarter. Bickerstaff went nine-deep in his rotation in the fourth quarter even turning to Lamar Stevens to eat some minutes as the Cavs battled to overcome a slow start.

Evan Mobley was a force… until he wasn’t.

The Cavs looked sluggish in the first quarter and may have been shaking off some rust after a seven-day layoff.

Fortunately, Mobley looked well rested from the break. He scored 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting and had it not been for Mobley, the Cavs could’ve easily been trailing by more than five points after the first quarter.

Mobley also played all 12 minutes while the Cavs navigated early foul trouble. But he was held scoreless in the fourth quarter as the Nuggets fended off the Cavs.

The disparity in three-point shooting was glaring.

Take a quick look at the box score and you’ll see that the Cavs connected on just six shots from long range and were just 2-of-7 from deep in the fourth quarter.

Denver, meanwhile, went 17-of-36 from deep. During their seven-game winning streak, the Cavs did a good job of limiting their opponents from deep, but at times it’s been a struggle to guard the perimeter.

“They made 17 of them, some contested, but a lot of open ones,” Bickerstaff said. “We made six where I thought we had some good looks also that didn't go down for us.”

The late-game learning curve is still a steep one at times for the Cavs.

The Nuggets went on a 13-4 run to take a 114-109 lead with 2:15 left. Cleveland then came up empty on its next three possessions as Mitchell missed a pair of shots late. It allowed the Nuggets to escape with a win in a game the Cavs felt could’ve gone their way.

Bickerstaff lamented the fact that they were so successful in the paint through the first three quarters and abandoned what was working for them down the stretch.

“(It’s) understanding where your strengths are versus your opponent that night. We had an advantage in the paint tonight,” Bickerstaff said. “We need to continue to attack the paint and put pressure on the game and make them have to make an adjustment before we kind of let them off the hook.”