Head for the Mountains
After getting their first victory of the 2021-22 season on Saturday night at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, the Wine & Gold hit the road for a five-game trip beginning with a Monday night matchup against Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets in Denver.
The Cavaliers won their fifth straight at home against Atlanta on Saturday – bouncing back from a frustrating Friday loss to Charlotte in the home opener. Cleveland held the Hawks to 38 percent shooting, while dominating in the paint and at the stripe. Ricky Rubio – starting in place of the injured Darius Garland – keyed a 21-0 run that spanned the second and third quarter, giving the Cavs all the breathing room they’d need.
Rubio was outstanding, backing up his postgame mea culpa on Friday with a team-best 23-point, eight-assist, six-rebound night in Saturday’s win over Atlanta. Rookie Evan Mobley was almost as good, netting his first career double-double, finishing with 17 points and 11 boards, going 7-of-12 from the floor and leading both clubs with four swats.
The Nuggets are off to a strong start, taking their first two and holding each opponent under the century mark in the process.
After stymying Phoenix in its home opener to start the season, Denver held off the Spurs at Ball Arena on Friday. The Nuggets got contributions across the board in that win over the Suns, but the reigning MVP carried the load against San Antonio. Through two games, the Joker is averaging 29.5 points, 14.5 boards and 4.5 assists per.
From Denver, the Cavaliers head to Tinseltown for a Wednesday night battle with the Clippers followed by a Friday night meeting against LeBron and the Lakers. The following night, it’s a battle with Devin Booker and the Suns before wrapping up the roadie one week from tonight on Tobacco Road.
History
After sweeping the season series against Denver in 2019-20, the Nuggets took both contests against Cleveland last year in a pair of lopsided affairs. The Wine & Gold also trail the all-time series, 41-51, and have always struggled in the Mile High City, taking a 14-33 mark into tonight’s battle.
The all-time top scoring mark for Cleveland belongs to LeBron James, scoring 43 points in a triple-double in which he also set the assist mark against Denver with 15. The Cavaliers, who just days earlier traded Zydrunas Ilgauskas for Antawn Jamison, dropped the 2010 contest, with Carmelo Anthony finishing with 40.
Denver’s high-water scoring mark in the series belongs to Jamal Murray – set last year at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse when he became the first player in NBA history to score 50 points in a game without attempting a free throw.
Connections
The Cavaliers and Nuggets have some coaching ties. The first is obviously Denver’s head coach Mike Malone, who served as an assistant under Mike Brown from 2005 through 2010. And current Nuggets assistant Jordi Fernandez was the head coach of the Canton Charge from 2014-16 and worked in player development with the Cavs dating back to 2009.
Former Cavalier forward Jeff Green now calls Denver home. Green was with Cleveland during the 2017-18 season, averaging 10.8ppg off the bench in 78 games.