Ty Jerome helps Cavs bounce back from first loss of the season

CLEVELAND — The game lacked star power. However, perhaps it's time to develop some new talent on the Cavaliers' roster. They rebounded from their first loss of the season by dismantling the New Orleans Pelicans, 128-100, Wednesday at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. The Pelicans (4-12) were missing nine players via the injury bug, including starters Zion Williamson (hamstring), Dejounte Murray (hand), CJ McCollum (right adductor) and Brandon Ingram (ankle). The remnants of the roster resembled a G League team — and a bad one at that. Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson went deep into his bench, largely because the Cavs (16-1) played without seven players of their own, including Darius Garland (groin), Caris LeVert (knee), Isaac Okoro (ankle), Sam Merrill (ankle) and Dean Wade (ankle). Max Strus (ankle) has yet to play this season. Atkinson emptied his bench and the reserve players came through in a big way. Ty Jerome, who started at point guard but normally comes off the bench, was sensational with a career-high 29 points and three rebounds. He erupted for 20 points in the second quarter when he connected on 6 of 8 attempts from the 3-point line. He finished 7-of-12 from distance in the game. "I thought it was great how the crowd got into it," Atkinson said. "It was a superstar performance." The Cavs coach is mildly surprised by Jerome's scoring prowess. "He was always a pass-first, connector guy," Atkinson said. "The way he's finishing is phenomenal." Jerome helped Cleveland take a commanding 69-55 advantage at halftime. The Cavs were never threatened after. "I got in one of those zones," he said. "The ball keeps finding you. Once you make a few, it feels like the next one will go in." Teammate Georges Niang said having that type of weapon coming off the bench is huge for the Cavs. Niang picked up where Jerome left off in the third quarter with 14 of his 20 points. It matched his season high, originally set in New Orleans on Nov. 20. The players were most excited about rookie swingman Jaylon Tyson, who had 16 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and two steals in his first NBA start. He said he saw "JT" up on the board in shootaround, which signified who would be in the starting lineup. "Which JT?" he asked, referring to teammate JT Thor. "It was a blessing, for sure," Tyson said. "I hope to have more starts in my career. I finally got my feet wet. I'm looking forward to the rest of the season." Cavs assistant coach DeMarre Carroll convinced Atkinson that the first-round pick from California should be in the starting lineup. Playing with veterans in the starting lineup helped calm his nerves. Then, when he had a tip-in for his first basket of the game, "it got the jitters out of the way." The 6-foot-6, 218-pounder went on to make his first six baskets. "He fit in seamlessly tonight," Jerome said. "He hasn't played meaningful minutes all year (before Wednesday)." Garland, who took a hard fall in Tuesday's loss in Boston, was held out. Atkinson said it was a collaborative decision to rest Garland. The point guard was part of the decision to sit out the game. "We've run him hard," the coach said. Garland shot 3-of-21 from the field in the loss to the Celtics. In the three-point loss to Boston, Cleveland's big men Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley had a combined one field-goal attempt in the fourth quarter. Atkinson was upset with himself that Mobley didn't take a shot in the pivotal fourth quarter. "That fourth quarter was on me," he said. "I have to find a balance between our great guard play and Evan and JA." He ran the first play in the game for Mobley, who ended with nine points, seven rebounds and three blocks in 18 minutes against New Orleans. Allen added 16 points and 11 rebounds in 21 minutes. Guard Donovan Mitchell scored 10 points in just 20 minutes. Guard Antonio Reeves had a game-high 34 points for the Pelicans. Bob Finnan can be reached at rfinnan30@gmail.com. Follow him @BobCavsinsider on X.