The Cleveland Cavaliers have lost just five games at home all season. San Antonio very nearly handed them their sixth Thursday night.
CLEVELAND — Devin Vassell and Stephon Castle each scored 22 points, and the Spurs led as late as midway through the final frame, but San Antonio couldn’t pull an upset win in Cleveland on Thursday night, losing 124-116.
The Cavaliers, who lead the Eastern Conference with a 58-14 mark, have lost just five games all season at Cleveland’s Rocket Arena.
Jarrett Allen scored a season-high 29 points for the Cavs, Donovan Mitchell had a career-high 14 assists and Cleveland Cavaliers looked more comfortable back home, holding off the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday.
Allen went 10 of 11 from the floor and added 16 rebounds for Cleveland, which went 2-4 on a just-completed six-game trip out West.
Mitchell scored 25 and flirted with his first career triple-double, finishing with eight rebounds.
Allen’s three-point play — on an assist from Mitchell — put the Cavs up 117-112 and Darius Garland’s 3-pointer put the Spurs away with 1:16 left.
Harison Barnes, Julian Champagnie, Jeremy Sochan and Keldon Johnson also scored double-digits for the Spurs, who are fighting to make the Western Conference play-in despite being without the services of De’Aaron Fox and Victor Wembanyama for the rest of the year.
Takeaways
Spurs: According to a report in France’s LeEquipe, star Victor Wembanyama underwent surgery to correct the deep vein thrombosis in his shoulder, an ailment that sidelined him for the rest of this season. Interim coach Mitch Johnson did not have an update on Wembanyama. “We’re going to keep his plan and program in house for now,” Johnson said.
Cavaliers: Mitchell’s recent shooting issues (he came in 3 of 29 on 3s) may have some Cleveland fans on edge, but coach Kenny Atkinson isn’t worried about the All-Star, likening his struggles to a baseball slugger in a slump.
Key moment
With the Cavs leading by two, Mitchell had an open wing 3-pointer, but instead rifled his pass inside to Allen for the game’s biggest bucket and assist No. 14.
Key stat
Mitchell has played in 534 games and is still missing a triple-double from his resume.
Up next
The Spurs host Boston on Saturday. The Cavs play a back-to-back, visiting Detroit on Friday night.