If their last two games are any indication, the Cleveland Cavaliers appear ready to leave their underwhelming start to the season behind.
The Cavaliers aim for their third straight victory when they face the host Washington Wizards on Friday in NBA Cup group play.
The rebuilding Wizards dropped their sixth straight game on Wednesday, when they trailed by as many as 33 in a 136-107 loss to the host Boston Celtics.
Washington is searching for a consistent star, such as Donovan Mitchell, who scored a season-high 46 points in Cleveland’s 132-121 win over the visiting Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday.
The game marked another dominant performance for Mitchell, who is averaging team-high 31.9 points while shooting 57.6% from the field and 45.5% from 3-point range — which would mark career bests in all three categories.
Mitchell shot 15 of 21 from the floor against Philadelphia, including 6 of 11 from beyond the arc.
“It just looks so easy for him,” Cavaliers guard Sam Merrill said. “We’re all very jealous of that. But you just try to help him get any advantage. That was pretty fun to watch. It’s insane.”
Mitchell had help from Jarrett Allen (24 points, 10 rebounds) and Evan Mobley (23 points). Point guard Darius Garland had eight points in his season debut following offseason surgery on his left big toe.
Garland said the Cavaliers are at their best when Mitchell is in command of the offense.
“The ‘Spida’ that we know, MVP that we know, first-team All-NBA that we know,” Garland said of Mitchell. “We really need that going forward and he’s starting to realize that. But he also wants us to do our thing as well. It’s a give-and-take type of thing with Don, but we really need Don to go be Don.”
Cleveland has won its last 12 meetings against Washington, which hasn’t beaten the Cavaliers since Dec. 30, 2021.
The Wizards fell to 1-7 with Wednesday’s loss to Boston, but coach Brian Keefe was encouraged by his team’s effort in the second half.
“We tried to do the right things in the third and fourth quarter, but you’ve got to give (the Celtics) credit. They made some tough shots,” Keefe said. “It’s just about stacking habits. We’ve got to get better, more consistent in 48 minutes, and that’s on me.”
Keefe is exercising patience with veteran guard CJ McCollum, who was 1-for-10 shooting against the Celtics and is shooting 33% from the field in eight games with his new team.
While McCollum has struggled to find his shot, second-year big man Alex Sarr continues to impress. Sarr had 31 points, eight rebounds and three blocks in 29 minutes against Boston.
Keefe acknowledged Sarr’s progress after Wednesday’s loss, but he wants to see the same level of development from the rest of his lineup. Sarr leads the Wizards in averaging 19.0 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game.
Washington boasts the second-youngest roster in the NBA, behind only the Brooklyn Nets.
“Alex has been great, had a great start to the season, but (Wednesday) is about the team,” Keefe said. “We’re thrilled that Alex is playing better, but we’ve got to be better as a group. He’s part of that, too, and that’s on all of us.”
The Wizards are monitoring the status of forward Khris Middleton, who has missed the past two games due to a knee injury and is listed as day-to-day. Guard Bilal Coulibaly (lower left leg tightness) has been ruled out.
