7 Takeaways from Cavs 113-101 win over Spurs: Jarrett Allen’s resurgence leads to victory

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The Cleveland Cavaliers capped off their three-game road trip with a much-needed 113-101 win over the San Antonio Spurs, fueled by the resurgence of their former All-Star center.

It has never been a skill issue with Jarrett Allen. That was on display as he provided a game-high 27 points and 10 rebounds.

One of the most underrated parts of Allen’s game is his ability to find small windows to score. When he’s playing his best, he’s both patient and decisive when he has the ball inside. We saw that on Monday as he continually found angles and windows to lay the ball in.

Allen brought it on the defensive end as well. He was Cleveland’s best defender and a key reason why San Antonio struggled so much to finish in the restricted area (55.2%, 13th percentile) and wasn’t able to impact the game on the glass.

This was exactly how the Cavs need Alen to play.

For better or worse, Allen needs to be featured to remain engaged. When he’s not, the effort isn’t there, as we’ve seen the last several weeks.

Allen has been invisible for long stretches of the Cavs’ recent skid. He was held to just 13 points on seven field-goal attempts in his last two games combined. Moreover, Allen hadn’t attempted 10 or more shots in a game since the team’s Nov. 12 win over the Miami Heat. And in that time, the impact hasn’t been there on either side of the court, including late in their Christmas Day loss to the New York Knicks.

Nights like this serve as a reminder of how good Allen is, and why it can be so frustrating to watch him go through his extended lulls. The Cavaliers have the talent to be a contender, but they need their talent — like Allen — to step up and play up to their potential much more consistently than they have so far.

Starting Dean Wade with a front court of Allen and Evan Mobley gives this group an identity. The Cavs have consistently played their best defense through the years when Wade shares the floor with the two centers. It wasn’t difficult to see why against San Antonio.

Being able to switch three through five without giving up mismatches slows down an offense. The advantages that you normally create through screens are nullified. It also gives you an additional help defender that can meaningfully impact shots at the rim.

The Cavaliers have been searching for an identity this season. Putting Wade with the starters does at least give you something unique on that end for the starts of the first and third quarters. It’s something Kenny Atkinson should consider sticking with at least until Max Strus returns from his foot injury.

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Lonzo Ball is out of the rotation. Atkinson finally decided to pull the plug on the Ball experience, at least for one game, and it paid off.

Craig Porter Jr. rewarded his faith by providing the team with a much-needed spark at the start of the second and fourth quarters, where this team has consistently struggled to maintain momentum.

Porter has become the high-energy reserve that he’s had the skillset to be. He impacted the game by being a force on the offensive glass and by securing a crucial fourth-quarter block.

Ball still has a place on the team. He makes much more sense in lineups featuring both Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell than groupings that have one or neither. But until Ball’s shot returns, if it ever does, Porter is the best point guard option off the bench.

De’Andre Hunter can be a positive contributor on the glass. He grabbed nine much-needed rebounds in the win, with many of them being contested boards in traffic. That was something the Cavs desperately needed going against a frontline that came into this game 10th in offensive rebounding percentage.

Rebounding has been an issue throughout Hunter’s career. Nights like this show that the issue isn’t skill or physicality-based. When he wants to compete on the glass, he’s more than capable of doing so.

Garland kept the offense on schedule, despite having a difficult scoring night. He wasn’t able to get his shot to fall, but found a way to be impactful on offense by dishing out 11 assists. Garland consistently broke down the defense off the dribble, forced them to commit, and then made the right play once they did. This process resulted in Allen being on the receiving end of five of Garland’s 11 helpers.

The Cavs can still win even when Mitchell isn’t scoring.

Mitchell struggled to find his shot. He couldn’t easily get to the rim with Wembanyama occupying the paint. This forced him to settle for threes that he wasn’t connecting on either as he went 2-9 from distance with just 10 points.

We’ve seen Mitchell have slow starts, only to turn it around in the fourth quarter, or at least try to do so. That didn’t happen. Instead of forcing his shot late in an effort to get his team across the finish line, he kept the ball moving down the stretch, ensuring that the offense they used to make it a close game late was the same one they used to put it away.

This resulted in all nine of the Cavaliers who played in the fourth attempting a shot, with Mitchell taking just three. That was what was needed on a night like this.

There are times and places where this team needs Mitchell to empty the clip. This wasn’t one of them, and he recognized it.

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