After three years of dormancy, the Cleveland Cavaliers finally rose to prominence in the league's East and were given the chance to make the playoffs. However, we have to admit that the Cavaliers have not been in good shape since entering March, and have suffered from opponents' upset counterattacks, not only without the momentum of the dark horses in the East at the beginning of the season, but also the record has declined all the way. So far, the Cavaliers, who have a 39-30 record, have fallen to sixth place in the East. Although there are still qualifications for early playoff tickets, if you are not careful, you will be overtaken by the Toronto Raptors.
In this game, the Cavaliers, who returned home, accepted the challenge of the Denver Nuggets. To be sure, although the Nuggets have beaten the Philadelphia 76ers and washington Wizards in the past two games, their ranking in the West is not ideal, and they can only reach the sixth position in the West. That's right, whether it's the Cavaliers at home or the Nuggets on the road, if they want to get their tickets to the playoffs in advance, they have to do their best to maintain their current rankings. So, what kind of sparks will burst out of this competition between the two sides? Let's move on.
At the beginning of the game, the Cavaliers, who played at home, did not continue to show a sense of decadence, but quickly gained a lead. Garland sent eight points, four assists and one steal in the first quarter, and Markkanen also had 10 points, five rebounds and one steal to help the team play a 31-29 score. However, after taking the lead at the beginning, the Cavaliers, who entered the second quarter, did not take advantage of the chase and continued to widen the point difference between the two sides, but encountered a strong counterattack from the Nuggets.
Jokic played only five minutes in the second quarter, and with an efficient shooting rate of 4 of 5 shooting, he sent 8 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 block, and Heyland, who came off the bench to send 7 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists and 2 steals. With the continuous threat of the team's starters and substitute players, the Nuggets actually played a 34-21 score in one fell swoop, not only recovering the 2 points behind in the first quarter, but also achieving an 11-point rebound with a halftime score of 63-52. And the Cavaliers, who lost the initiative in the easy side and lost the initiative, can also make a strong counterattack.
In the third quarter, Garland, Markkanen and Mobley went on to help the team play 26-24 and recover the two points behind in the first half. By the time they reached the crucial final-quarter showdown, the point difference between the two sides had narrowed to 9 points. In the fourth quarter of the regular time competition, the Cavaliers did not choose to give up, always clinging to the backward score, constantly trying to chase points, and at the end of the regular time, continued to send a 29-20 score, forcing the game into overtime.
In the short overtime time, the Cavaliers also maintained a very high competitive standard, once playing a 12-9 score, and finally achieved a feat of overtime reversal with a score of 119-116! I have to admit that the performance of the Cavaliers' starters in the game was surprising: Garland played 45 minutes, sent 25 points, 4 rebounds and 14 assists, which not only eased the overall scoring pressure of the team, but also connected the team's overall offense; Mobly also has a double-double data of 27 points and 11 rebounds, and his contribution to both ends of the attack and defense should not be underestimated, as well as Markkanen, who handed over 31 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists.
In the face of a series of outbreaks in the team's starting core, the Cavaliers achieved an overtime reversal. On the other hand, on the side of the Nuggets, who lost away from home, although the scores of 6 players on the team reached double digits, they were still slightly chicken. Although Jokic has a quasi-triple-double of 32+10+8, he can't stop the fierce attack of the Cavaliers' three-man tiger.