On Wednesday November 20th the 15-1 Cleveland Cavaliers hosted the 4-11 New Orleans Pelicans at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse. The Cavaliers lost their last game on the prior night in Boston to the Celtics 120-117. It was their first loss of the season. The Pelicans last game was 132-91 loss in Dallas to the Mavericks the night before this game. For the Cavaliers Max Strus ankle and Emoni Bates knee were both out for the game. For the Pelicans Jordan Hawkins back, Herbert Jones shoulder, Dejounte Murray hand, Jose Alvarado hamstring was all out for the game. The Cavaliers were trying for their 16th win of the season.

In the first quarter the Cavaliers continued their trend of playing solid basketball and the led at the end of the first quarter 29-24. In the second quarter the Cavaliers started to pull away from the Pelicans and went into halftime with a 69-55 lead. In the third quarter the Cavaliers didn’t pull away, they ran away with the game from the Pelicans. And the Cavaliers led the Pelicans 105-73 at the end of the third quarter. In the fourth quarter the Cleveland Cavaliers coasted to their 16th win of the season 128-100.

The Cavaliers’ leading scorer was Ty Jerome with 29 points in 23 minutes. The Cavaliers had two players with double doubles. Jarrett Allen had 16 points and 11 rebounds in 21 minutes. Jaylen Tyson had 16 points and 11 rebounds in 37 minutes. The Cavaliers had 6 players with double digit points. The most impressive thing about this win was that many players didn’t play. Darius Garland, Isacc Okoro, Dean Wade, Sam Merrill, and Caris LeVert all did not play in this game. Up next for the Cavaliers is to host the Toronto Raptors next Sunday November 24th,2024, 7:30 pm eastern at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse. This team will get a much needed and much deserved rest. And the fans will get a much-deserved rest of the season.