by The 27-17 Cleveland Cavaliers came home from a long road trip to take on the 26-17 New Orleans Pelicans in a Martin Luther King Jr. Day matchup. The Cavs were able to have a big fourth quarter to win it 113-103.
The Pelicans were without a handful of key players, including Zion Williamson (hamstring), Brandon Ingram (toe) and Herbert Jones (back).
The Cavs came into the game near full strength, only missing a few rotational players.
Cleveland won the tip and immediately went to work with a lob from Jarrett Allen to Evan Mobley.
Defensive struggles and sloppy fouls let the Pelicans pull ahead early.
Near the end of the quarter the offense started clicking for the Cavs as they were able to cut the New Orleans lead to 25-24.
The high Cavs were Mobley with 8 points and Caris Levert with 6. For the Pelicans it was Jonas Valanciunas with 8 and Trey Murphy III with 7.
The second quarter was a poor shooting performance from both teams. The Pelicans were 33% from deep while the Cavs were 28%. The Cavs were also struggling from the free throw line, shooting only 58% from the charity strike.
Despite the struggles, a big three by Donovon Mitchell kept it a three point game at the half. New Orleans led 50-47.
The first half stars were Mobley (10 points) and Mitchell (11 points) for the Cavs. Mitchell would leave the game early with an injured groin. The Pelicans were led by Valanciunas (13 points) and Naji Marshall (8 points).
The start of the third was led by the play of the Cavaliers bigs. Mobley and Allen were dominating the paint as Darius Garland was feeding them.
The rest of the third was filled with the Pelicans trying to pull away, but the Cavs fighting to stay right behind them. The end of the third was 81-78.
Garland and the bigs carried the load for the Cavs. Garland had 16 and 9 assists by the end of the third. For the Pelicans it was CJ McCollum heating up with Jose Alvarado. McCollum scored 18 while Alvarado had 10 with 5 assists and 2 steals.
The fourth quarter started well for the Cavs. A tough shot by Garland and a pair of free throws by Mobley gave the Cavs their first lead since early in the first.
Late in the fourth the Cavs were clicking. They hit big shots and were playing with more energy. Garland hit a few big threes to really drive the dagger home.
The players of the game for Cleveland were Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen. Garland had 30/6/11 while Allen had 24/11/5.
For New Orleans it was their potential all-stars in CJ McCollum and Jonas Valanciunas. McCollum had 25 points with 4 assists while Valanciunas had 22 with 13 boards.
The Cavs will be back on the road Wednesday when they take on the 29-13 Memphis Grizzlies.
The Pelicans will be back at home on Wednesday as they meet with the 24-20 Miami Heat.
