Random dribbles following the Cavaliers’ thriller of a 94-90 road win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday.
1. Nobody expected the Cavs to win — probably not even the Cavs. Along with all the other sidelined bodies, Collin Sexton missed his first NBA game in three seasons with a bum ankle.
2. That’s what makes this win so remarkable. This version of the team was more like Cavs Lite. So it was nothing but pure desire from the likes of Andre Drummond, Larry Nance Jr. and yes, rookie Isaac Okoro.
3. Drummond was just 2-of-8 shooting in the first half. He actually headed to the locker room, alone, with about 3:00 to go before halftime. He apparently needed to clear his head. He was struggling against Grizzlies center Jonas Valanciunas. Drummond dug deep and pulled it together.
4. Drummond was flat-out dominant in the second half, finishing with 22 points and 15 rebounds. He went 7-of-12 shooting in the final two quarters, and even compiled three assists and two steals for the game.
5. And how about Nance? All he did was finish 7-of-7 shooting, including 4-of-4 on 3-pointers, for 18 points.
6. Nance to FOX Sports Ohio’s Angel Gray on the win: “Grit. I said it before, I’ll say it again — this team doesn’t quit. There’s no quit in us. … To come out here and get a win on someone else’s court says something about our heart and our toughness.”
7. Man, it sure does.
8. Before we go any further, it should be noted that both Cedi Osman and veteran reserve center JaVale McGee also gave fine performances.
9. Osman has been up-and-down, but finished with 16 important points and seemed to play with confidence all night. McGee always plays with confidence and finished with 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting. He also grabbed six boards in 17 minutes.
10. OK, now for Okoro. This was just his fourth NBA game after missing time with a bad foot. The Cavs (5-4) are 3-1 when Okoro plays and 2-3 without him. Guess what? That may not just coincidence, as Okoro has a tendency to make winning plays.
12. Okoro came up with the defensive play of the night, a chasedown block that would have enabled the Grizzlies to go ahead by a point. Then, on the other end, a cutting Okoro finished with a dunk after a great pass from Drummond. Game over.
13. More Nance, this time on Okoro: “All he does is win games. I can’t say enough positive about him, on the court and off. … Plays the right way, smart dude, plays within himself.”
14. Okoro finished with eight points, two assists and two blocks. Interestingly, his game-saver was initially called a foul, but coach J.B. Bickerstaff challenged the call. It was overturned.
15. Now, think about this — along with Sexton, the Cavs were missing Darius Garland (foot), Kevin Love (calf), Dylan Windler (hand) and several others. As Nance said, all of the injuries account for about “50 or 60 points” a night. So it’s been important for Bickertsaff to coax the Cavs to defend as a team — and that is exactly what they’ve been doing.
16. Shooting guard Damyean Dotson started for the second time in two nights following the injuries to Sexton and Garland. Dotson finished with nine points, though he went just 1-of-8 on threes. That’s OK. He kept the Grizzlies’ defense honest. Dotson will eventually start knocking them down.
17. And just think about all the valuable experience the Cavs’ reserves are getting while some of the starters are out. Two-way rookie Lamar Stevens played 21 minutes and second-year big man Dean Wade played 17.
18. Sexton was initially given the go-ahead to play. He wanted desperately to be out there. But the Cavs decided to make him a late scratch, likely just to be safe. It’s hard to say how Sexton felt about that, but odds are, he wasn’t happy with the decision.
19. The Grizzlies (2-5) have lost all four home games. They remain without reigning Rookie of the Year and point guard Ja Morant. He is expected to miss another two to four weeks with a sprained ankle.
20. Valanciunas led the Grizzlies with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Brandon Clarke added 14 and nine, respectively. Clarke is a nice young player with a bright future.
21. One game remains in this six-game jaunt for the Cavs. And it takes place Saturday against back-to-back NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks. But when it comes to these Cavs, it really is best never to say never.
Box Score: Cavaliers 94, Grizzlies 90
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