Cold all night, Evan Mobley buries game-winner for Cavs

CLEVELAND — Evan Mobley has that "winning gene." After suffering through a sub-par performance for most of the night, the Cavaliers power forward came through with the game on the line. His 13-foot jumper with four seconds left was the winning basket in the Cavs' 90-88 victory over the visiting Phoenix Suns on Wednesday at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. "He's a winner by nature," Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. "Check his track record. He's hit big shots for us before in the fourth quarter. He's got that winning gene. To have the courage to take that shot, it's huge." Just two days after their emotionally draining overtime victory over Chicago on Monday — fueled by Donovan Mitchell's 71-point outburst — the Cavs (25-14) struggled mightily for most of the game. Throughout the game, however, they continued to defend at a high level. "That's what we should take pride in every night," Cavs guard Caris LeVert said. "We leaned on our defense. In the playoffs, you'll need gritty stops." They held the explosive Suns (20-19) to .395 from the field and .357 from the 3-point line. "Even though we struggled offensively, we gave ourselves a chance on the defensive end," Bickerstaff said. "Shots aren't always going to fall. Guys have embraced (playing rugged defense). They know who we are. We had the mental toughness to persevere." The Cavs shot just .390 from the field and .306 from the 3-point line, but they continued to fight. LeVert paced Cleveland with 21 points, six rebounds and two steals. He was 7-for-11 from the field and a sizzling 5-for-7 from the 3-point line. The Suns packed the paint and forced the Cavs to shoot from the perimeter. Cleveland caught fire just in time with a 6-for-11 performance from deep in the fourth quarter. Mitchell added 20 points, a game-high nine assists, six rebounds and two steals. He hit a huge 3-pointer with 40 seconds left to hand the Cavs an 88-85 lead. However, he shot a miserable 6-for-20 from the field and 3-for-12 from beyond the arc. Mobley, in his first game back after missing two games with a sore right ankle, finished with six points and eight rebounds. When Mitchell found him in the lane in the closing seconds, he didn't hesitate to take the winning shot. The Cavs, who are an NBA-best 18-4 at home, have now won three in a row heading into their five-game West Coast trip that starts in Denver on Friday. They snapped a five-game losing streak to the Suns. Phoenix, playing without All-Star guard Devin Booker (left groin strain), has now lost four in a row and seven of its last eight games. Future Hall of Fame point guard Chris Paul led all scorers with 25 points and eight assists. Center Deandre Ayton contributed 15 points and a game-high 18 rebounds. The Cavs got a huge lift from little-used point guard Raul Neto, who had a season-high 14 points. "We don't win the game without him," LeVert said. The Cavs clawed their way back in the game late in the third quarter and trailed 64-59 entering the final quarter. They outscored the Suns 31-24 in the fourth. Cleveland trailed 43-33 at halftime when it shot .289 from the field and .158 from the 3-point line. Tip-ins Bickerstaff said he's aware of the sports betting that has become highly popular in Ohio."I don't pay much attention to it," he said. "It's coming. There's nothing you can do about it. We need to spend more time educating our guys. We know the downside of it. So many of these things lead to trouble."Bickerstaff is not one to divulge too much information. That won't change now that betting is involved. Lost in the hoopla of Monday's game was Cavs center Jarrett Allen defending Bulls swingman DeMar DeRozan down the stretch in the game.Bickerstaff wanted a taller defender on DeRozan, who was wearing out just about anyone guarding him en route to a 44-point effort."There's not a lot he's shown he can't do on the floor," the coach said. "There's not a lot of guys his size that can do what he can do." The Cavs coach is paying attention to the high-scoring games around the NBA. It seems like there is a 45- or 50-point game every night."The league is in a wonderful place as far as talent goes," Bickerstaff said. "It seems like every night there is something spectacular." Contact Bob Finnan at (440) 329-7135 or rfinnan30@gmail.com. Follow him @BobCavsinsider on Twitter.