J.B. Bickerstaff Proud Of Cavs, Jarrett Allen After Convincing Win Over Nuggets

The Cleveland Cavaliers upset the Denver Nuggets as they won their third straight game.

The Cleveland Cavaliers were down their All-Star shooting guard, their six-man, defensive specialist, and backup point guard against the Denver Nuggets and still managed to take down the defending NBA champions.

Needless to J.B. Bickerstaff was proud of his team for finding a way to win without Donovan Mitchell, Caris LeVert, Isaac Okoro, or Ty Jerome in the lineup. He was especially proud of Jarett Allen's effort in the big win.

This is what the Cavaliers' head coach had to say following the victory.

"I thought Jarrett Allen was phenomenal. He took the challenge, guarding one of the best players in our game (Nikola Jokic), the most versatile player in our game, and he accepted the challenge. You know, he was physical, he was intelligent, made him work for everything."

Nov 19, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) shoots while Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen (31) defends in the first quarter at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports / © David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

Allen did play tremendous defense against Jokic all night. The Nuggets center scored 18 points, but JA was clearly in Jokic's head as he picked up five falls before the halfway mark in the third quarter.

This is exactly the type of physicality Cleveland fans have been looking for from Allen.

As for the rest of the team, Bickerstaff said he thought "As a group offensively we did a great job sharing the ball, playing together, and taking what was there. We found the pick and roll game was working and how we created advantages, and everybody got involved from there."

Cleveland needs to keep this momentum going as they look to the next phase of their schedule. 

The Cavs have now rattled off three straight wins while they still work through a number of injuries. Cleveland does have a difficult stretch coming up as they're preparing to take on the Philadelphia 76ers, Miami Heat, and Los Angeles Lakers this week.