2-24-2021 vs Rockets

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After a four-game homestand, the Wine and Gold wrap up the month of February on the road – traveling to Philadelphia where they’ll look to win their third straight game for the second time this season.

The Wine and Gold came into the week having dropped 10 in a row, but they turned it around with a dramatic win over Atlanta on Tuesday night before outmuscling the Rockets on Wednesday – shooting 51 percent from the floor and drilling 16 triples while dominating the boards, 55-33, and on the break, 21-2.

The Sixers come into tonight’s contest as the East’s top dog – having won 14 of their last 16 games and boasting the best home mark in the Conference at 14-2. Philly’s coming off a double-digit win over the surging Mavericks on Thursday night, with its bench combining for 46 points to boost a starting lineup that lost Tobias Harris to a right knee contusion early in the affair.

After dropping the previous five against Philadelphia, the Cavaliers have won the last two meetings in convincing fashion – including a 24-point blowout at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in the third game of the season.

About that 24-point win in Cleveland on December 27 … the Sixers were without a slightly important piece – MVP candidate and three-time All-Star, Joel Embiid.

The fifth-year man from Kansas has been a man on a mission all year long – posting career-highs in scoring, steals, field goal and three-point percentage. The top-scoring big man in the Association, Embiid is the league’s 4th-ranked scorer overall at 29.6ppg.

Embiid struggled from the floor in Thursday’s win over Dallas, going just 5-for-20, but still finished with 23 points, nine boards and a pair of blocks, but is just over one week removed from a 50-point, 17-rebound outburst in a win over Chicago.

The Cavaliers have actually had a modicum of success against Philly’s superstar big man – holding him to 15.3 points and 8.9 boards per in the last four head-to-head matchups.

Jarrett Allen isn’t a bruising big man like Embiid, but he’s been almost as unstoppable since his arrival in Cleveland, especially since moving into the starting lineup.

On Wednesday night, the 22-year-old from Texas notched his sixth straight double-double – tying his career-high in scoring (that he set two games earlier) with 26 points, a game-high 18 boards and four blocks.

In that win over the Rockets, Allen went 10-of-11 from the floor – one game removed from a perfect 11-for-11 performance – continuing to lead the league with a .672 mark.

Over his last four games, the fourth-year man is shooting an eye-popping 81 percent from the field.

Through his first four years in the league, Ben Simmons has been the model of consistency. He posted strong numbers as a rookie out of LSU and has maintained them ever since.

One of the best two-way perimeter players in the league, Simmons is Philly’s third-leading scorer (15.7), second-leading rebounder (8.1) and top assist man (7.9). He’s also the Sixers best defender and will be called upon to lock up any Cavalier not named ‘Jarrett Allen’ on Saturday night.

Simmons isn’t the offensive force that Embiid can be and is certainly no threat from long-range – where he’s attempted just six shots all year – but is completely capable of going off if need be – as he did two weeks ago in a loss to the Jazz, finishing with a season-high 42 points to go with 12 assists and nine boards.

The Cavaliers have also had no trouble getting production out of their lead guard, with Collin Sexton topping the 20-point plateau for the seventh straight occasion on Wednesday night against Houston – finishing with 23 points – 16 after intermission – on 9-for-19 shooting from the floor, including 3-of-8 from long-range.

In eight career meetings against the Sixers, the Young Bull has topped the 20-point mark in half of them – including a 22-point effort in Cleveland’s blowout win at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse earlier this season.

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Three Keys: Cavaliers at Sixers

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The Cavaliers needed a victory badly on Tuesday night against Atlanta, and they got it in dramatic fashion. On Wednesday, they validated it with an equally satisfying blowout win over the Rockets.

After taking it on the chin from one Western Conference foe after another over the past couple weeks, the Wine &amp; Gold finally got a taste of revenge – blowing past the vertically-challenged Rockets after intermission for the 112-96 win at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

The Cavs trailed by a deuce at half against the slumping Rockets – who came in having dropped their last eight – but turned it completely around over the final 24 minutes, shooting 68 percent from the floor, including 60 percent (9-of-15) from beyond the arc.

Every Cavalier starter tallied double-figures and Dylan Windler stayed red-hot off the bench.

Jarrett Allen tied his career-best scoring mark (that he set on Sunday night against OKC) – finishing with 26 points to lead both teams, going 10-of-11 from the floor and 5-of-8 from the stripe.

The fourth-year man from Texas – and the league’s field goal percentage leader – notched his sixth straight double-double, also leading both squads with 18 rebounds and season-high-tying five blocks.

Collin Sexton topped the 20-point mark for the seventh straight game, adding 23 points – 16 after intermission – on 9-for-19 shooting from the floor, including 3-of-8 from long-range.

Windler was scorching again – chipping in with 13 points off the bench, going a perfect 4-of-4 from long-range, adding four boards and a pair of assists.

Darius Garland finished with 11 points and struggled from the floor for most of the night – going 4-of-14, 3-of-10 from deep – but led both squads with 10 assists and a +19 mark in his 35 minutes of work.

The Cavaliers two starting forwards – Dean Wade and Isaac Okoro – put up efficient numbers in the win.

Wade, getting his second straight start, finished with a career-best 11 points, going 4-of-4 from the floor, including 2-of-2 from long-distance. Okoro was 4-of-6 from the floor, also drilling both triples he attempted, adding two boards and a block.

Overall, the Cavaliers shot 51 percent from the floor and drilled 16 three-pointers. Cleveland dominated the boards against a Rockets team that started P.J. Tucker at center – 55-33 – and outran Houston on the break, 21-2.

John Wall led the Rockets with 20 points, with Eric Gordon adding 17 off the bench.

Miss any of the action? Find all the highlights and photos in the Game Tracker.

Jarrett Allen gets the loose ball on the defensive end and runs the length of the floor, capping the fast break off with a strong one-handed dunk.

On Wednesday night, Darius Garland was a one-man turning point.

Garland’s turnover on one end turned into a Victor Oladipo three-pointer on the other – giving Houston a one-point lead. That seemed to fire up the sophomore guard, who proceeded to drill three straight bombs – the third from 30 feet – to give Cleveland a six-point edge.

The Rockets bounced back to tie the affair, but didn’t lead for the rest of the evening, with the Cavs ending the third on a 12-3 run to give them all the breathing room they’d need.

By the Numbers - 1.000 … Dylan Windler’s shooting percentage from three-point range over the last two games – going 9-for-9 from beyond the arc against Atlanta and Houston.

The rookie from Belmont came into the week shooting .304 from deep; he heads into this weekend at .418.

Jarrett Allen, joking about Coach Bickerstaff’s comment that he had visions of “ABA/Dr. J” on Allen’s coast-to-coast dunk in the third quarter …

"I’ve been kind of forced to watch (ABA) – with the nickname, the hair, the “J” as my nickname. So, I’ve kind of seen what he was able to do. Was it like that? Yeah, I guess so. We both have the afro, we were both soaring through the air, so it’s close!"

Enjoy the best broadcast calls of the night from Cavaliers Radio Network's Tim Alcorn and Rafa Hernandez-Brito from Power 89.1.

After dropping the Rockets on Wednesday night, the Cavaliers have just one more home contest remaining in the first half – one week from Wednesday when they welcome the Pacers to town before the All-Star Break.

In between now and then, the Cavaliers hit the road this weekend – traveling to Philly for a Saturday night showdown against Joel Embiid and the East-leading Sixers before heading to Houston for a rematch with the Rockets on Monday.

The Cavs start the second half with three straight on the road – beginning with a trip to the Big Easy on March 12.

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Hot-Shooting Cavs Take Second Straight

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Verizon Game Rewind - Cavs vs Rockets

Jarrett Allen (26 points) Highlights vs. Houston Rockets

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Garland's Laser Pass to Okoro in the Corner

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Windler Cashes In on a Long Triple

Feat. Highlight: Allen Goes Coast-to-Coast

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DG's Long Ally-Oop to JA

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2‑24‑2021 vs Rockets