Second-half surge guides Cavaliers to win over Nets

Donovan Mitchell scored 26 points on Thursday for the Cleveland Cavaliers, who found their footing late in the third quarter and pulled away in the fourth for a 110-97 victory over the Brooklyn Nets in New York.

The Cavaliers sputtered on offense for most of the first 2 1/2 quarters before doing enough to record their fifth straight victory. Evan Mobley collected 18 points and 13 rebounds, Darius Garland contributed 18 points and nine assists, and former Brooklyn center Jarrett Allen finished with 16 points and a season-high 20 rebounds.

Clevland, which outscored the Nets 47-28 in the final 17 1/2 minutes, shot 42.6 percent from the floor overall and held a 52-45 advantage on the glass.

Cameron Johnson scored 18 points for the Nets, who saw their third three-game winning streak of the season end. They have yet to win four straight.

Keon Johnson added 16 and Trendon Watford put up 13 for the Nets, who shot 40 percent from the field and 26.3 percent (10-for-38) from 3-point range.

The Nets fell to 6-2 in their past eight and slipped to 0-3 this season against the Cavaliers. Brooklyn also lost D'Angelo Russell to a sprained right ankle after the guard shot 1-for-7 and was held to three points in 18 minutes.

Mitchell scored 14 points in the third quarter, including a 3-pointer that gave the Cavaliers an 83-71 lead with 1:04 left. Before getting the lead for good, Cleveland never trailed by more than seven

The Cavaliers were down 69-63 after a basket by Cameron Johnson, but they scored the next 13 consecutive points. Cleveland outscored the Nets 20-8 over the final 5:36 of the third for an 83-77 lead into the final period.

Mobley's reverse dunk and free throw upped the lead to 93-80 with 9:06 left, and an uncontested layup by Issac Okoro put Cleveland up 98-86 with 5:49 to go. Max Strus hit an open corner 3-pointer and a layup on consecutive trips to put the Cavaliers ahead 103-86 with 4:229 to go.

--Field Level Media