The Cleveland Cavaliers kept their home streak alive in a 121-111 win over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night. Evan Mobley led the way for the Land with 24 points while tacking on 12 rebounds. Forward AJ Dybantsa countered for the Wizards with 19 points of his own, while center Alex Sarr took control of the inside with 18 points.
Dybantsa made his NBA debut against the Cavaliers after missing Washington’s first four games with an ankle sprain. The former BYU standout hit eight of his 12 shot attempts in his 27 minutes on the floor. Guard Meleek Thomas, Cleveland’s own rookie taken 33 spots after him, answered with 10 points as he followed up a 16-point outing in his own NBA debut. Dybantsa used a mixed bag to throw the Cavs off balance early, which put them in the rearview by as many as 13 points as the Wizards took command of the matchup until early in the second half.
The rookie drew first blood and the first points of his NBA career with a pair of free throws after an early foul on Jarrett Allen. The 6-foot-9 forward would pair with Sarr, who barely missed the No. 1 spot in the 2024 NBA Draft, to hit Cleveland with a flurry of blows down low to pair with Washington’s active defense. The Wizards would end the night with 66 points in the paint, or far ahead with their near-league-leading 55 paint points per outing heading into the night. Sarr would use his red-hot start to end the first half with 13 points, a much-needed turnaround after a handful of slower scoring starts to his third season with Washington.
Washington’s youth movement, which features three starters age 23 and below, all but mirrored the similar rising stages the Cavs once faced as its trio of youthful starters combined for 44 points on the night. Wizards wing Bilal Coulibaly would be perfect from the floor in the first half as he hammered the paint with seven makes. Cleveland’s own youth movement would try to counter as Thomas and Jaylon Tyson would check in early, but experience would ultimately take point for the Cavs as Mobley seemed to forget how to miss from the 3-point line.
Only Cleveland’s outside game, along with creative moves at the basket, could keep the Wizards’ lengthy options and ball movement at bay as they rolled to a 69-59 start by the end of the half. While the Cavs tried to copy the Wizards with lob attempts and their own tricky moves near the basket, they couldn’t catch the same fire as Washington as the wizardry of guard Trae Young caught on quickly with the Wizards’ bigs. Young, who entered the night with a league-leading 11 assists per game in his first four games, ended the Wednesday bout with eight assists as he continued to be the on-court maestro for the Capital squad.
While the Cavaliers pushed ahead on the boards with 47 rebounds to Washington’s 27, it would be the Wizards’ comfortable paint-or-3-pointer attack that would keep the lead inching towards Washington’s favor. The Houston Rocketsesque approach of old seemed to turn back the clock as Washington continuously pushed the pace, which never gave the Cavs enough time to breathe before it flew in for its next try at the basket. While Cleveland would go blow-to-blow with and outscore Washington in the third quarter, the Wizards would pull off just enough from the two halfcourt poles to keep things even with the Cavs.
It only took two more 3-pointers from Mobley to turn things in Cleveland’s favor for good.
Mobley, who would end the night with five makes on six tries from long-range, put his finger on a tipped scale with two splashed home 3-point attempts in the fourth quarter. A nail-biting sequence was put to an end by a 3-point strike from Mario Hezonja, who put the Cavs at a comfortable distance with a strike from the right corner to keep a string of shots alive. James Harden would ultimately put things away with a driving floater, which only added to a lopsided half that put the Cavs back in the driver’s seat.
The Cavaliers will move to 3-1 after their bout against the Wizards, which put them in a 3-way tie for third place in the Eastern Conference standings once the dust settled from a busy Wednesday slate. Two razor-thin victories, along with Wednesday’s win, led to Cleveland rebounding from a season-starting loss to the Philadelphia 76ers with a perfect record at home. The Wizards, whose undulating start to their season dropped them at a 2-2 record, will continue to balance on the tightrope of .500 as they fell just behind for the first time this season.
The Cavs will travel to face the Atlanta Hawks after their short home stand. The Hawks entered the night with a dead-even 2-2 split behind wins over the Orlando Magic and Charlotte Hornets and a pair of losses to the Rockets. The Cavs split their regular-season series against Atlanta in last season’s run, which included a perfectly-balanced two wins at home and two losses on the road. They last fell to the Hawks just two games before their run in the NBA playoffs, where a series of 7-game slugfests led to a 4-game sweep at the hands of the New York Knicks in the East Finals. Forward Jalen Johnson, now in his sixth season with Atlanta, is nearly averaging a triple-double while leading the squad in rebounds, assists and blocks per game.
The Cavaliers will tip off against the Hawks at 8 p.m. EDT on Thursday in State Farm Arena. The game will be broadcast on DAZN and NBA TV.
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