Cavs stay perfect at home with 122-108 win over Raptors

CLEVELAND — Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson admitted it wasn't one of his team's finest hours. However, that didn't prevent Cleveland from extending its dominance at home with a 122-108 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Guards Donovan Mitchell and Ty Jerome each scored 26 points, while center Jarrett Allen added 23 and 13 rebounds to help Cleveland (17-1) run its record to an NBA-best 10-0 at home. "We strive for perfection or close to perfection," Allen said. "Tonight was not that game." Atkinson was not thrilled with his team's defense. "(It was) too much fouling," he said. "We were reaching too much. That's an issue right now." The Cavs sent the Raptors (4-13, 0-9 on road) to the foul line 34 times. "We need to find a way to clean that up," Atkinson said. Cleveland had six players reach double figures in poitns, including all five starters. It all added up to their 17th win in 18 games, easily the best in the NBA. "I've been in the league for 17 years," Atkinson said. "This doesn't happen. It's pretty shocking where we are." Guard Darius Garland contributed 16 points and six assists, while forward Evan Mobley had 14 points and 11 rebounds and forward Isaac Okoro had 10 points and six rebounds. Okoro had missed the previous two games with an ankle injury. Jerome's play has been staggering. He added five assists and four steals. "I knew he was capable of this," Mitchell said. "He did it at Virginia on a national stage. Salute to him. We trust him with that ball in his hands. He adds an element of surprise. That's one of the things that makes us lethal." Jerome played just two games last year before being sidelined with an ankle injury. "You guys act like he died and came back to life," Mitchell joked. "He's not just solid, but dominant." Atkinson said Jerome has been in a zone since he arrived at the practice court in September. "He's been phenomenal," he said. "When is this guy going to start slipping? He just keeps going. It's a credit to him. It's a state of grace for him." Mitchell, who had 11 points in the fourth quarter, said he's not surprised by the Cavs' torrid start to the season. "I knew we could get to this level of play," he said. "I knew this could be our potential. How do we build on this?" The Cavs couldn't put the Raptors away until the fourth quarter. "It was a choppy game," Atkinson said. "They are a hard team to play against. They are very physical. It was not one of our better games. We were a little off. I could have been a contributor (to the uneven play)." Toronto's Gradey Dick and Scottie Barnes each had 18 points, while RJ Barrett added 16. Center Jakob Poeltl had 12 points, a game-high 18 rebounds and two blocks. He had eight of the Raptors' 19 offensive rebounds, another area of concern for Atkinson. Viewership up According to Nielsen, the 16 Cavs games on FanDuel Sports Network, all wins, have averaged a viewership of 70,500 household impressions, up 49 percent. The most recent eight games on the network account for eight of the top 10 most viewed to date. The average viewership for those eight games is over 80,000 HH impressions per game. The most viewed game so far is the Cavs-Hornets game Nov. 17, reaching 98,660 NEO households. Missing parts The Cavs played without forward Dean Wade (ankle), Max Strus (ankle) and Caris LeVert (knee inflammation). Atkinson said Strus is a "ways away" from returning to the lineup. "He's progressing," he said. "He's on the court shooting. He still can't have contact." Bob Finnan can be reached at rfinnan30@gmail.com. Follow him @BobCavsinsider on X.