Donovan Mitchell and Jarrett Allen recorded each double doubles and Cleveland Cavaliers led the visiting Los Angeles Clippers almost wire-to-thread on their way to a 127-122 victory on Sunday.
Mitchell finished with 24 points, 12 returns and seven assists for Cavaliers. Allen got a team high 25 points, took 12 boards and made a couple steal. Evan Mobley added 22 points, seven returns, four assists and three blocked shots.
Norman Powell from Los Angeles led all scorers with 34 points. James Harden added 24 points, eight returns and eight assists in the loss, Clipper’s first three matches in a four-game road swing.
Cleveland (60-15) secured only the third regular season with 60-plus win in franchise history behind major runs in both halves against Los Angeles. Cavaliers went on a 16-0 blast during the first quarter, which extended for almost four minutes, to open a 17-point lead.
Clippers (42-32) chipped away at the deficit and withdrew early in the third quarter. Cleveland responded with a 16-2 driving.
Another Cavaliers response to a threat in Los Angeles came during the fourth quarter when Clippers went within eight points before Mitchell and Isaac Okoro joined Back-to-Back 3 points.
Mitchell put his final stamp on the Cleveland victory when Mitchell, after a couple of Darius Garland-free, throws into the route a three-point lead to five, Mitchell came away with his fourth steal.
Garland scored 19 points and shot 7-of-8 from the free throw line, with his work on the charity band that helped Cavaliers keep Kippers in arm’s length.
Los Angeles played without Kawhi Leonard for the first time since March 12 and handled a knee injury. Leonard scored at least 23 points and published three double doubles over seven straight performances between absence and had 31 points and six returns on Friday in a route of Brooklyn.
Clippers also lost Amir Coffee early on in Sunday’s competition after suffering a knee injury during a collision on the court.
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