The Cleveland Cavaliers entered Monday as the hottest team in the NBA. They had won five games in a row to add to their impressive streak that started nearly two months ago, and had a golden opportunity to move up in the Eastern Conference standings in their game against the Sacramento Kings.
NBA: Cavaliers Move Into 2nd Place With Win Over Kings
The Cleveland Cavaliers were 13-12 and 10th in the East when they lost Darius Garland and Evan Mobley on December 15th.
Today, they are 32-16 and sole owners of 2nd place in the East 🔥
Is Cleveland a legit title contender? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/FSjLDhvvBI
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) February 6, 2024
Cleveland has taken advantage of a recent skid by once two-seeded Milwaukee. As the Bucks have attempted to adjust to a new head coach, they have lost three of four, including a game against the Jazz on Sunday that featured a 31-point swing in the final 15 minutes. The 76ers, who were sitting in the 3rd spot for much of the year, have also faltered around Joel Embiid’s injury.
The Cavaliers have surged. Coming into the contest against Sacramento, they were just percentage points behind Milwaukee in the standings, and had the chance to overtake them and move into sole possession of the #2 spot in the East. They did just that, easily handling the Kings by 26 points, and now have just one team in the conference with a better record.
The win gives Cleveland their 14th in their last 15 games, and 19th in their last 23 dating back to December 15th.
Cleveland Will Hit The Road This Week And Weekend
Donovan Mitchell:
— 28.2 PPG
— 5.5 RPG
— 6.4 APG
— 1.9 SPG
— 2 seedMVP candidate? . https://t.co/ltzPVglFgX
— StatMuse (@statmuse) February 6, 2024
They’ll have to keep it up through the playoff push if they want to enter the postseason as one of the top teams. There is now just one game separating the Cavaliers, Bucks, and Knicks, and the 76ers are 1.5 games behind that.
While they’ll play their next three games on the road, Cleveland will be playing against some of the bottom-feeding teams in the NBA. They’ll start with a back-to-back against the Wizards and Nets on Wednesday and Thursday, and then will travel to Toronto to wrap up the week and road trip against the Raptors on Saturday.
Donovan Mitchell has been the team’s leader all season, and has had two 45-point games during the Cavaliers’ recent hot streak. He is averaging 28.2 points and 6.4 assists on the year.
Most of the winning had been done without the availability of two of the team’s biggest producers, as Darius Garland and Evan Mobley had been out until only recently.
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