Day after James Harden trade, Cavs demolish Clippers
Donovan Mitchell registered 29 points, nine assists and five rebounds as the Cleveland Cavaliers mauled the Los Angeles Clippers 124-91 on Wednesday night in Inglewood, Calif.
Cleveland won for the ninth time in its past 11 games one day after the two teams worked out a trade that included James Harden going to the Cavaliers and Darius Garland joining the Clippers.
Jaylon Tyson scored 17 points as Cleveland continued its recent success. Sam Merrill and reserve Dennis Schroder added 11 points apiece and Jarrett Allen had 10 points and 11 rebounds for Cleveland.
Kawhi Leonard had 25 points and seven rebounds while John Collins scored 19 points for the Clippers, who lost for the second straight game and the third time in four outings.
Neither Harden nor Garland was allowed to be in the bench area Wednesday night with the trade still pending. Both players were in the building and most if not all of the Cleveland players greeted Garland in an emotional scene after the game.
Los Angeles made 46.3% of its shots and was 6 of 28 (21.4%) from behind the arc. Kobe Brown and Yanic Konan Niederhauser each had 10 points off the bench for the Clippers.
Cleveland dominated from the start and led 36-18 after the opening quarter.
The Clippers moved within 10 early in the second quarter but the Cavaliers reasserted control. Mitchell's 3-pointer with 0.2 seconds left capped his 14-point first half to give Cleveland a 62-42 halftime lead. Tyson had a team-high 15 in the half, while Leonard scored 16 in the half for the Clippers.
Merrill's 3-pointer capped an 8-0 burst in the third quarter as Cleveland went ahead 70-46 with 10:06 remaining. Craig Porter Jr. later slammed home a dunk with 11 seconds left to make it 94-68 entering the final quarter.
Porter's 3-pointer 40 seconds into the period elevated the lead to more than 30. The margin topped out at 35 points.