Denver, Oct. 26 (U.S.): The atmosphere briefly erupted between rowdy guards Ricky Rubio and Facundo Campazzo as they faced each other late in the third quarter.
Nothing happened but staring. All she did was help ignite Cleveland’s big victory, according to the Associated Press.
Kevin Love scored 22 points, Garrett Allen scored his second in a row and the Cavaliers beat the Denver Nuggets 99-87 on Monday night.
“Everyone was showing their commitment to each other,” Cavaliers coach JB Bickerstaff said of the strength of his team. “We didn’t back down at all.”
Especially Rubio, who seemed to be spared from Campazzo’s corner error. He stared at Campazzo as his teammates rushed over. Both were released with tech.
“It could have been one of the worst fights I’ve ever seen,” Love cracked.
After a small squabble—and after Denver rushed to tie the game at 70—Love fired a free throw to set off a 19-3 run that helped put the match away.
“Everyone wants the next guy to succeed,” Love said. “This feeling here is contagious.”
Allen finished with 21 points and 16 rebounds to help the Cavaliers start their five-game trip right. This was on the heels of a performance of 11 points and 14 rebounds in the win over Atlanta at the weekend.
“He always brings it in every game,” Love said. “You know what you’re going to get from him.”
The Cavaliers beat out the big night of NBA Player of the Year Nikola Jokic, who scored 24 points and had 19 rebounds. They held Denver in a 9-of-38 3-point shooting, and forced the 22 to turn over.
“I don’t know what we should be better at, but we have to be better at something because you will lose a lot of games if you keep playing like this,” Djokic said. “It’s pretty much everything (wrong) when you have that kind of game. They didn’t score that many points. We had a lot of turnovers.”
Nuggets coach Michael Malone reiterated the idea.
“It’s almost like Keystone-copish there, some twists,” Malone said. “Hopefully we can find a way to fix it quickly.”
Hints
Cavaliers: Love surpassed John “Hot Rod” Williams to single out fifth on Cleveland’s all-time defensive rebounders list. … Rookie PF Evan Mobley had 10 points. …SG Collin Sexton has 14 points. …G Darius Garland scored nine points for the Cavs when he came back after missing the last two games with a left ankle sprain.
Nuggets: J Jamal Murray (anterior cruciate ligament rupture) went through a shooting routine in pre-match training as the crowd rushed into the ring. … G Will Barton finished with 12 points, while Aaron Gordon scored 12 points and nine rebounds.
defensive effort
Bickerstaff was highly praised for his defense. But now he expects it every night.
“You told Jarrett you got an ‘A’ on your report card, and now your dad and mom are expecting you to come back with an ‘A’,” Bickerstaff said. “This was a defensive ‘A’ effort. We expect them to come back with an ‘A’.”
Patience, part 1.
Malone recently spoke with Bones Hyland about being patient while he tries to get the rookie guard into a spin. Hyland saw his first act of the season on Monday and had seven points. It was taken 26th overall by Virginia Commonwealth University.
“Every beginner has a different path,” Malone said. “I told Bones that Jamal didn’t start and Nicholas didn’t start. Michael Porter (Jr.) as a rookie probably had 15 DNP (didn’t play), and is now a max player. America is great.”
Patience, part two
Bickerstaff thinks it will take about 10 tinkering games before settling into a steady spin.
“We want to give groups a chance to be successful or fail, but they need to have the data that supports them,” Bickerstaff explained.
the following
Cavaliers: Face the Clippers in Los Angeles on Wednesday.
Nuggets: In Utah on Tuesday to complete a back-to-back game.