*** The Cavaliers came into their matchup with the Magic as the league’s hottest team, and they didn’t cool off for a minute on Monday night – once again jumping out to a huge lead and cruising to the finish line, extending their league-leading win streak to eight games with a 126-99 victory in Orlando. Jarrett Allen set a team record for consecutive double-doubles, Sam Merrill tied a career-best in three-pointers made and Donovan Mitchell matched a career-high in assists – with Cleveland shooting 56 percent from the floor and 53 percent from deep in the rout.
*** With his 10th rebound midway through the third quarter, Jarrett Allen ran his double-double streak to 12 straight games – besting Elmore Smith (1977-78) and Andre Drummond (2020-21) for the longest stretch in franchise history. On the night, J.A. finished with 14 points and 11 boards – five off the offensive glass – going 6-of-8 from the floor to go with four assists and a pair of blocks. Over that 12-game span, the 25-year-old big man is averaging 18.2 points and 14.3 boards on 66 percent shooting.
*** Allen, who got a congratulatory ice bath from his teammates following the blowout, talked about the moments before he set the mark. “It was really cool. When I was getting close, you could hear them counting down. I could hear Tristan on the sidelines cheering me on, and then when I got it, they were all cheering for me. I didn’t know it was that moment until I heard them cheering.”
*** Sam Merrill came out red-hot on Monday night – drilling his first seven three-point attempts and finishing 8-for-13 from long-distance on the night. His eight triples tied a career-high and tied a franchise record for threes off the bench. Since the start of the new year, the only NBA reserve to drain more three-pointers than Merrill’s 36 is former Cavalier Alec Burks, with 42.
*** In the postgame locker room, with his teammates barking in the background for “Money Merrill” to be selected for the Three-Point Contest at All-Star Weekend in Indiana, the 4th-year man from Utah State talked about his recent success. “I think I try and be as solid as I can in everything that I do. Obviously, the shooting will pop at times, but for me it's always been like I know I can shoot. I know that's what people are going to see me as, but I want to just be a winning basketball player and I felt like I've always been able to do that.”
*** Donovan Mitchell led all starters with 25 points, going 9-for-19 from the floor, and he also handed out another career-high in assists with 13 dimes in the win. Over the course of Cleveland’s win streak, the four-time All-Star is averaging 7.3 assists per – handing out at least six helpers in each of his last six outings. Mitchell also led both teams with four steals – and is currently 2nd in the NBA in that category at 1.97spg – and finished with plus-34 in 30 minutes of work.
*** One common factor over the course of Cleveland’s win streak has been its ability to jump out to a fast start. Over the eight-game win streak, only San Antonio led the Cavaliers after one quarter, and that was also their slimmest margin of victory in the octet.
J.B. Bickerstaff | Cavs at Magic Post Game | 1.22.2024
*** Coach J.B. Bickerstaff explained the secret to the quick starts. “Jarret Allen wins the tip and we get first possession. We get an opportunity to score first, and then our defense has just been incredible. Our guys have been elite on that end of the floor. And when you are that good the way that they’ve been, you’re going to give yourself a chance to get off to those starts. But I think they had seven points around the six-minute mark. That’s difficult to overcome, and then when you’re getting that amount of stops, the offensive opportunities that it creates with the talent that we have on the floor, you know we have the ability to make them pay.”
*** The Cavaliers have beaten their last three opponents by an average of 29.3 points per game and by 22.5 over the eight-game win streak. Monday’s contest was also the fourth straight contest – and fifth in the last seven – holding their foe under the century mark.
*** The last time the Cavaliers trailed their opponent was at the 10:01 mark of the fourth quarter in the 18-point win over Chicago on January 15. Cleveland re-took the lead 35 seconds later on Caris LeVert’s three pointer – and haven’t trailed at any point since.
*** Despite missing Sixth Man candidate Caris LeVert for the second straight games, Cleveland’s second unit tallied 60 points on Monday – paced by Merrill’s 26, with solid contributions by Craig Porter Jr. – who notched 12 points and five assists, going 5-of-7 from the floor – and Georges Niang – who finished with 11 points to net double-figure scoring for the seventh time in his last eight appearances off the bench.
*** After throttling the Magic to extend their win streak, the Cavaliers travel to Milwaukee to wrap up the roadie with a pair of contests – on Wednesday and Friday nights – against a Bucks team they demolished by 40 points just under one week ago. Cleveland closes out the month of January next week when they welcome the Clippers to town on Monday followed by a visit from the Pistons two nights later.