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Cleveland Falls To The Nuggets In First Game Following All-Star Break

The Denver Nuggets beat the Cleveland Cavaliers in both teams' first game back after the NBA All-Star Break.

Tommy Wild

Cleveland Falls To The Nuggets In First Game Following All-Star Break
Cleveland Falls To The Nuggets In First Game Following All-Star Break /
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The Cleveland Cavaliers shook off the dust from the All-Star break with a hard-fought game against the Denver Nuggets. Both teams clearly started off slow after just over a week off of the action, but they also were able to return to form to give fans an exciting fourth-quarter finish.

In the end, it was Nuggets who finished out on top with the final score being 115-109.

This game was destined to be a tight matchup before tip-off. The Nuggets are the top team in the Western Conference and also have the highest-ranked offense in the NBA. On the other hand, the Cavs have the league's top-rated defense so something was going to have to give. 

WATCH the postgame press conference here:

Cleveland really got off to a slow start which haunted them for the rest of the game. They shot just 3-for-16 from behind the arc and 52 percent from the floor in the first half. 

The Cavs also got into some major foul trouble early, on top of not being able to score the ball. At one point in the first quarter, Jarrett Allen, Isaac Okoro, and Dean Wade all had two fouls. This forced the Cavs to run a small-ball lineup that isn't optimal with MVP-favorite Nikola Jokic manning the paint. 

The shooting didn't get much better in the second half as Cleveland finished shooting 23 percent from three and 48 percent from the field. Despite the poor shooting, the Cavs' defense got them back into the game even though it ended in a loss.

Feb 23, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) fights for position against Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen (31) in the first quarter at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

One bright spot in the loss was Even Mobley who finished with 31 points on an ultra-efficient 63 percent shooting night. He even knocked down a couple of threes which is more than a welcome sight.

This performance also included a number of highlight dunks and a dominant third quarter. 

This was a dissipating loss for the Cavs as they've now dropped their second straight game that has come down to the last two minutes.

They need to shake this one off fast though because they travel to Atlanta to take on the Hawks on Friday for the second half of a back-to-back.

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Tommy Wild
TOMMY WILD

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