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0 The Cleveland Cavaliers secured their fourth consecutive victory on Thursday night, defeating the Memphis Grizzlies 108-101 in a tightly contested game. Donovan Mitchell was the star of the show, producing an impressive performance with 25 points and seven assists. Caris LeVert came off the bench to add 16 points to the Cavaliers’ tally, while Jarrett Allen contributed 14 points and nine rebounds. Max Strus also played his part with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
However, the Cavaliers suffered a setback as Allen was forced to leave the court just three minutes into the third quarter due to an injured left ankle. He did not return to the game, and the team’s coach, J.B. Bickerstaff, confirmed that he did not have any update on Allen’s condition. The injury also brought Allen’s streak of consecutive double-doubles to an end after setting a franchise record of 16.
Despite this setback, the Cavaliers continued to fight hard, and Darius Garland returned to the court after a 19-game absence due to a fractured jaw. He scored nine points and provided seven assists on the night, following his impressive 19-point performance the previous night in a home victory over Detroit.
The Cavaliers were also without power forward Evan Mobley, who sat out the game to allow his minutes to be monitored following his return from knee surgery earlier this week.
The game itself was a hard-fought battle, with the Grizzlies keeping up with the Cavaliers until the final moments of the match. Cleveland came out a bit flat in the first half, but they made up for it with a stronger defensive performance in the second half, holding Memphis to just 22 points in the third quarter and 21 points in the fourth.
Mitchell, who was selected as an All-Star reserve for the Eastern Conference on Thursday, admitted that the team made some mistakes early on, but they showed great resolve to come back and secure the win.
On the other side, Jaren Jackson Jr. led the Grizzlies with 25 points, while Santi Aldama had 18 points and nine rebounds, and Vince Williams Jr. scored 17 points.
The Cavaliers took an 81-80 lead into the fourth quarter, but Memphis fought back, coming within two points of Cleveland (101-99) with just over two minutes left on the clock. However, LeVert scored a crucial dunk, and Strus made a 3-pointer with 1:16 left to push the score to 106-99, ultimately securing the victory for Cleveland.
However, the Grizzlies will be disappointed with their inability to make a closing run, as they have been in recent games. Jackson believes they need to tighten things up, especially when up late in the game to avoid letting it slip away.
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