Cavaliers not cooling off, make 22 3-pointers against Nuggets, get 20th win

CLEVELAND — The rest of the league keeps waiting for the Cavaliers to come back to earth with their shooting. They're past the quarter point in the season and they're still getting better. Cleveland (20-3) withstood a triple-double by Nuggets center Nikola Jokic and blitzed Denver 126-114 on Thursday at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. The Cavs were lethal from the 3-point line and connected on 22 of 48 attempts to outscore Denver 66-18 from long distance. Guard Donovan Mitchell doesn't think the Cavs are too reliant on the 3-point shot. "That's the name of the game now," he said. "It's space and pace. It's open looks. We have so many different threats." The 22 makes are a season high and the 48 attempts tied a season high. They more than made up for the 76 points in the paint from the Nuggets (11-9). The Cavs are the only team shooting better than .500 from the field and .400 from the 3-point line. There's a reason they are leading the league in scoring at 121.8 per game. Six players are shooting .400 or better from behind the arc. Mitchell, who paced the Cavs with 28 points and six assists, said Cleveland is an elite shooting team. "I think we are," he said. "We're getting a lot of open looks. It's tough to guard." It's no longer just a small sample, especially after 23 games. "It's starting to be real," coach Kenny Atkinson said. "You have to respect our shooting. We are generating good shots. We qualify as an excellent shooting team." Guard Darius Garland contributed 24 points and four assists, while swingman Caris LeVert scored 14 of his 21 points in the first quarter when the Cavs exploded out of the gates and were never seriously threatened. "He got his rhythm back tonight," Atkinson said. "He's having a phenomenal year." LeVert, who missed four games recently with knee soreness, also dished out six assists and had three rebounds and a steal. He was 5-of-6 from the 3-point line. "I woke up this morning and was feeling good," LeVert said. "I'm still getting it back." In all, the Cavs had four players score 20 or more points. "We wore them down with our depth," Atkinson said. "We have incredible depth and great balance. It's a real complete team." Power forward Evan Mobley had 20 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three steals. He was 3-of-5 from the 3-point arc. "The first few went down and I was letting it fly," Mobley said. Jokic, a three-time MVP, recorded his ninth triple-double of the season with 27 points, 20 rebounds and 11 assists. The 7-foot, 284-pounder has 140 triple-doubles in his career and recently moved past former Lakers great Magic Johnson for third place all time. Of course, he averages a triple-double on the season. He came into the game third in the NBA in scoring (30.1), second in rebounds (13.0), second in assists (10.4) and third in minutes played (37.6). Denver coach Mike Malone, who referred to Jokic as the "best player in the world," said he was concerned with his minutes. "I don't want to run Nikola into the ground," he said. Atkinson said Jokic is a "unique talent." "He's so different from the rest of the league," he said. "He's a playmaking 5. He's the hardest cover in the league." Dean Wade started at small forward in the second half for the Cavs. Starter Isaac Okoro was sidelined for the second half with a contusion to his left knee, which Atkinson said doesn't appear to be serious. Cavs center Jarrett Allen had just eight points but a team-high 15 rebounds, six assists and two steals. He spent the night pounding inside against Jokic. "Jay put a body on Jokic and made him work," Mobley said. "Our defensive effort was pretty good." Good dilemma? Swingman Max Strus (ankle) is getting closer to returning to the lineup. Atkinson said Strus has gone through some contact, which is normally one of the last steps in a return from an injury. It will be nearly impossible to find regular minutes for 11 or 12 players. Atkinson usually goes about 10 deep in his rotation. "It's a great problem to have," he said. Atkinson said having someone like Strus return to the team is like signing a new player. "It's an injection of energy (to the lineup)," he said. "It's new blood." Strus has yet to play in a game this season after being injured in training camp. He was the starting small forward last season, a job currently held by Okoro. Tough enough? Atkinson said the formula to defeat the Cavs is to play extremely physical basketball. The Cavs have long been labeled soft, even though Cleveland's players and coaches dispute that. Not many transition teams are also physical. "We want to marry the two," Atkinson said. "Part of physicality is the force you play with. (You want) hard cuts, hard screens. That's what it's going to come down to (in the playoffs)." Turnovers down Garland has a 2.9 assist-to-turnover ratio. Atkinson said he believes Garland's turnovers are down because of the team's spacing. "It's opening more space for him," he said. The Cleveland coaches have Garland using Steve Nash's probing principle. "Keep the ball and probe," Atkinson said. "Dribble around until you find something better." Bob Finnan can be reached at rfinnan30@gmail.com. Follow him @BobCavsinsider on X. Cavaliers 126, Nuggets 114 DENVER (114): Gordon 8-13 2-4 18, M.Porter Jr. 8-15 5-6 24, Jokic 13-26 1-1 27, Braun 4-10 2-2 10, Murray 7-16 4-5 19, Nnaji 0-0 0-0 0, Strawther 1-4 0-0 2, Watson 1-3 1-2 4, Westbrook 4-9 1-2 10. Totals 46-96 16-22 114. CLEVELAND (126): Mobley 7-11 3-6 20, Okoro 1-2 0-0 3, Allen 3-5 2-2 8, Garland 9-20 3-3 24, Mitchell 11-24 0-0 28, Niang 2-4 0-0 5, Wade 2-5 0-1 5, Jerome 2-4 0-0 4, LeVert 7-11 2-4 21, Merrill 3-8 0-0 8. Totals 47-94 10-16 126. Denver&emsp; 27&emsp;35&emsp;25&emsp;27&emsp;—&emsp;114Cleveland&emsp;37&emsp;29&emsp;36&emsp;24&emsp;—&emsp;126 3-Point Goals—Denver 6-24 (M.Porter Jr. 3-6, Watson 1-2, Murray 1-3, Westbrook 1-3, Gordon 0-2, Strawther 0-2, Braun 0-3, Jokic 0-3), Cleveland 22-48 (Mitchell 6-10, LeVert 5-6, Mobley 3-5, Garland 3-10, Merrill 2-7, Okoro 1-2, Niang 1-3, Wade 1-4, Jerome 0-1). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Denver 49 (Jokic 20), Cleveland 47 (Allen 15). Assists—Denver 25 (Jokic 11), Cleveland 32 (Allen, LeVert, Mitchell 6). Total Fouls—Denver 13, Cleveland 17. A—19,432 (19,432)