Cleveland Cavaliers (1-1) beat Brooklyn Nets (0-2) 125-121 at home on Saturday, October 24 in a game that stayed within 16 points at every quarter break.
How it stayed close
Neither side ever opened a real gap. The Cavaliers led by 14 at halftime and by 16 after three, and the fourth quarter (29-41) decided it.
The edge that mattered
The Cavaliers cashed in 36.7 free throws for every 100 shots, the Nets only 23.7 and the Cavaliers shot 60.8% on an effective basis to 50.5% for the Nets. Getting to the line gave them easy points when the shots were not falling.
The Nets did win one battle, second chances: ORB% of 33.3% against 23.1%. The Cavaliers made up for it elsewhere.
The game played at about 110 possessions per team. The Cavaliers scored 113.8 points per 100 possessions and the Nets scored 110.2, a difference of 3.6.
Who made the difference
Michael Porter Jr. (BKN) posted the best line of the night by Game Score (24.2): 28 pts, 9 reb, 1 ast, 4 stl on 10-18 shooting. The team was +5 in the minutes Michael played.
For the Cavaliers, Evan Mobley was the best of the rest at 22.1: 20 pts, 10 reb, 4 ast, 3 blk on 7-12 shooting.
Evan Mobley (20 pts, 10 reb, 4 ast) recorded a double-double.
Game Score is a single number that weighs points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, shooting efficiency, fouls and turnovers. It is not an official stat, just a quick way to rank lines.
What it means
The result fit the pre-game Win Meter, which gave the Cavaliers about a 89% chance.
Across the last 7 meetings in our records, Cleveland Cavaliers lead 7-0.
The Cavaliers are now 1-1, and the Nets are 0-2. The Cavaliers last five before this game: L-L-L-L-L.
Written automatically by Tip Off Live software from box score data. Ratings and probabilities are our own model estimates.