The San Antonio Spurs, in their third city in four nights, couldn’t withstand the feisty Cleveland Cavaliers. The teams played evenly for the first half, but the Spurs transition defense was weaker than normal and Cleveland got everything they wanted in the lane en route to a massive third quarter that put the visitors away.

Devin Vassell was scorching in the first quarter, nailing four 3-pointers, getting to the line, and blocking Evan Mobley at the rim. The Spurs also got extra help from Cleveland’s poor ball security, plus Keldon Johnson and Jeremy Sochan kindled the bench mob. Yet they only had a five-point lead going into the second quarter.

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The defense had a rough time getting stops, particularly against Mobley. Naturally, the Cavs played to the crowd, never letting the Spurs race off with a large enough lead. However the bench kept delivering, De’Aaron Fox did his thing and Vassell added three more treys, pushing his output to 25 points on 63.6 percent shooting, which carried them to intermission ahead by eight.

The Cavaliers caught the Spurs napping and only took two minutes to pull ahead. Four more lead changes followed in the third, but the Spurs’ ball movement all but came to a halt. the one-on-one play resulted in an 8-0 run that put them behind double figures, forcing coach Mitch Johnson to call multiple time outs to stop the bleeding. Whether it was Mitch or Keldon Johnson trying to inspire the team during breaks, it didn’t make much of a difference as their deficit swelled to 17 points going into the fourth.

In spite of diving for loose balls and some of the offensive flow retuning, Cleveland kept getting to the heart of the defense for close-range shots and kick outs. Johnson waved the white flag with two minutes left.

Game Notes:

The Spurs were extra vulnerable with trusty Luke Kornet out with an ankle injury, so Bismack Biyombo started for him. He was serviceable in short minutes, but Sochan was the superior player and bought teammates extra opportunities with his hustle on the glass. All of his activity next to the dunker spot put him in prime position for rebounds. Yet, they were still terribly small and the backline resistance was not strong.

The Cavaliers being without their starting point guard( Darius Garland) and center (Jarrett Allen) severely diminished their shot creation, and added stress on Donovan Mitchell and Mobley to run the offense. Yet a lot of their 3-point attempts were clean, and their ability to make some of those was a significant reason why they won. The eruption in the third changed the game. It was the equivalent of seeing a close, action fight, where one pugilist takes a savage strike to the body, subsequently getting hurt, allowing the opponent to create separation on the cards while they hold on. The Spurs could get within single digits in the fourth.

Mobley was a mismatch for the Spurs, and they had no hope of containing him without Victor Wembanyama. As soon as he got within close range, it was practically over for the defense on that possession.

Dylan Harper started missing his first nine shots as his father Ron watched from his court-side seat. It was easily his worst performance of his young career. At one point, he was only looking to pass when going into the lane. He was even outplayed by the random Spurs killer, Craig Porter Jr. Remember the name. He can’t be sped up and has excellent instincts on and off the ball.

Fox was an offensive beast, getting anywhere he wanted in the first half. Yet he watered down his impact with a weak second, and he was outplayed by Mitchell.