Surging Cavaliers cool off Clippers

Donovan Mitchell had 28 points and 12 assists to help the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 118-108 win against the visiting Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night.

Jarrett Allen had 20 points and 17 rebounds for his 15th straight double-double, Isaac Okoro scored all 17 of his points in the first half and Max Strus finished with 14 points and seven rebounds for Cleveland, which has won 10 of its past 11 games.

Evan Mobley returned for the Cavaliers after missing the previous 22 games while recovering from arthroscopic left knee surgery. Mobley, who averaged 16 points and 10.8 rebounds through his first 21 games, finished with 10 points and nine rebounds.

Kawhi Leonard had 30 points and eight rebounds to lead the Clippers, but didn't get much help from his fellow starters. Paul George scored 13 points on 3-for-11 shooting from the floor and James Harden finished with 11 points on 3-for-8 shooting, though he contributed seven rebounds and 10 assists.

Norman Powell scored 18 points off the bench and fellow reserves Russell Westbrook and Amir Coffey scored 13 points each for the Clippers, who had won five in a row and 13 of 15 since Christmas.

Powell sank a 3-pointer 30 seconds into the fourth quarter to cut the Cavaliers' lead to 88-84, but Los Angeles didn't get any closer.

Georges Niang made two free throws to give Cleveland its first double-digit lead of the game at 95-85 with 10 minutes left.

Caris LeVert converted a fast-break layup to extend the lead to 102-90 with 8:17 remaining.

The Clippers had a chance to cut the deficit to three but Coffey missed a free throw with 1:34 left and Mitchell sank a jump shot to beat the shot clock on the other end.

The Cavaliers led by as many as nine points in the first quarter before taking a 28-25 advantage into the second.

The Clippers scored the first five points of the second quarter and made their first 3-pointer after seven straight misses to take their first lead at 30-28.

Los Angeles extended its lead to as many as seven points in the quarter, but Cleveland answered with a 9-0 run to move back ahead 53-51 with 1:39 left in the half.

Okoro closed the half with a 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds left to give the Cavaliers a 56-52 lead at the break.

—Field Level Media