Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley help save season in Cavs' Game 3 win

CLEVELAND — When one gets right down to it, much of the Cavaliers' success can be traced to their big men. If Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley show up, they are hard to beat. When they falter or are not playing up to par, Cleveland is very susceptible to losing. The Cavs trail the best-of-seven series 2-1 heading into Game 4 tonight at Rocket Arena. They took turns with lackluster play in the first two games in Detroit. Allen got in immediate foul trouble in Game 1 and managed just two points and three rebounds in Cleveland's 111-101 defeat. Mobley was a no-show in Game 2 with nine points and one rebound in the 109-97 loss. Observers were shocked that the tallest player on either team could grab one rebound in 35 minutes of a game. Both performances were contributing factors in falling behind 0-2 in the Eastern Conference semifinal series, even though veteran point guard James Harden's play was borderline atrocious. That brought us to Game 3 on Saturday, a 116-109 victory by Cleveland at Rocket Arena. Allen played inspired basketball with 18 points, four rebounds, two blocks and one steal."Jarrett Allen is the man," Cavs swingman Max Strus said. "When Jarrett Allen goes, our team goes. He knows that. We need him to be that guy every single night. When he does it, it's contagious. He's just a phenomenal basketball player. I love being his teammate." Mobley made a big impact on the boards in the game Saturday with 13 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two blocks. He played much of the fourth quarter with five personal fouls. The Cavs are still getting beaten up on the boards, as Detroit won the rebounding battle 40-33, as well as 17-5 on the offensive glass. It's become a major emphasis for Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson, who keeps harping on the possession game. "We matched their physicality," Strus said. "We were tougher. Even though they won the rebounding battle, we found a way to compete. "(The Cavs' big men) are the most important pieces to our team. They are huge. We need to get them involved offensively and defensively. They make us go. They are the reason we are who we are." Allen and Mobley are taking turns battling Detroit center Jalen Duren in the post. The 6-foot-10, 268-pounder has been held in check thus far in the series and is averaging 10 points, 8.7 rebounds and 0.7 blocks and shooting .423 from the field. "He impacts the game in so many ways," Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. "He does a great job protecting the rim, communicating our defense. Our defense isn't where it is without the anchors that we have here." Despite the subpar performance in Game 1, Allen is averaging 14 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.3 blocks and is shooting .682 from the field in the series. He is shooting .661 from the field (47-for-71) so far in the postseason, ranked second in a single postseason in Cavs' history. Game 3 was his seventh game of this postseason scoring in double figures. Allen is the fifth player in Cavs' postseason history to record at least one block in nine consecutive games (LeBron James, Larry Nance Sr., Timofey Mozgov and Mobley are the others). Allen has also amassed 20 blocks so far in the 2026 postseason. Mobley has also rebounded from his off game to average 12 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.3 blocks. He's shooting .514 from the floor in this series, but only .500 from the foul line. "We believe in him," Strus said. "We trust him. He's going to answer the test." Mobley said he loves playing next to Allen. "We've always been connected," he said. "Playing with another big is big time. He's tremendous on the boards. Whether he has Duren and he's boxing him out, I'm coming over the top and rebounding." The 7-foot, 230-pound Mobley is not paying attention to what's trending on social media. "Everyone is creating a narrative about this or that," he said. "You have to be locked in and not worry about all of that and play winning basketball. That's what he's been doing. That's what we did (in Game 3). We have to keep doing that until we get past this series." Mobley said winning Game 3 was monumental. "We protected home court," he said. "We just have to get one more and the momentum shifts. Right now, that's what we're focused on. We have to watch film and get even better and keep playing our brand of basketball." Atkinson said the Pistons still feel like they have control of the series. "We have to turn that narrative," he said. "We've got to go get this one (tonight). They feel confident. We have to put more doubt (in their minds)." Bob Finnan can be reached at rfinnan30@gmail.com. Follow him @BobCavsinsider on X.