By james art WASHINGTON (AP) — Donovan Mitchell scored 30 points, Jarrett Allen added 23 while going 10 for 10 from the floor and the Cleveland Cavaliers cruised to a 135-116 victory over the Washington Wizards on Saturday night.
Darius Garland also had 23 points and Evan Mobley had 13 points and 13 rebounds as Cleveland went perfect three games into its rookie season.
The Cavaliers shot 54 percent (47 of 87) from the floor to complete their ninth straight win over Washington. The night before, they beat Detroit for the 10th time in a row.
Food to take home
Bilal Koulibaly scored a career-high 23 points for Washington, which lost its first two games by a combined 39 points at home after posting a franchise-worst 15-67 record last season.
Cavaliers: It was a professional performance on the second night of a back-to-back for Cleveland. But the schedule gets much tougher with six games against teams that reached the playoffs last season.
Wizards: Last season’s leading scorer Kyle Kuzma is struggling so far. He made just 3 of 16 shots in 24 minutes (and missed all four of his attempts from beyond the arc) after going 6 for 16 in Washington’s season-opening loss to Boston.
Key point
After Kuzma’s dunk to open the second half, Mitchell nailed a 3-pointer, a mid-range jumper and assisted on a Garland 3-pointer during Cleveland’s 12-0 run to build a 16-point advantage. Washington wouldn’t get close to single digits again.
Key statistics
Believe it or not, Allen’s perfect shot marks just the second-most clean sheet goals of his career. He went 11 for 11 on October 21, 2021 against Memphis.
Next up
Both teams are on the road Monday, with the Cavaliers visiting the New York Knicks and the Wizards in Atlanta.
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