There have been flashes of brilliance from Evan Mobley, tantalizing moments that convinced the Cavaliers he'll dominate. On Saturday night, he put it all together.
Mobley scored a career-high 38 points, Darius Garland added 21 and Cleveland bounced back from an embarrassing loss with a 114-102 win over the Milwaukee Bucks, who were again without injured star Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Mobley made sure the Cavs shook off their awful performance in a 120-114 loss a night earlier to the Golden State Warriors, who beat Cleveland despite resting Stephen Curry and three other starters.
The 21-year-old Mobley finished 19 of 27 from the field and had his top scoring performance as a pro without making a free throw or 3-pointer. He added nine rebounds.
'That's exactly what we want to see from (number) 4,' Garland said, referring to Mobley's jersey. 'Him being aggressive. Him just finding his pocket and doing what he does best. I would love to see that every night.'
Mobley is only the fourth player since 1979, when the 3-point line was adopted, to score at least 38 points without making a free throw or 3-pointer. Hakeem Olajuwon, Alex English (twice) and George Gervin are the others.
'He was aggressive,' Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. 'He was assertive. He was attack-minded. He was creating for himself and his teammates felt him rolling. I don think this is what he's capable of.'
Mobley scored 12 of Cleveland's first 15 points in the fourth and the Cavs, who were without star Donovan Mitchell due to a groin strain for the third straight game, put together a 12-2 run to separate from the Bucks.
Garland added 10 assists for Cleveland.
Drue Holiday scored 28 and Bobby Portis Jr. added 23 for Milwaukee, which played its fifth straight game without Antetokounmpo. The two-time MVP is nursing a sore left knee.
The Cavs have been urging Mobley to look to score more often, and he didn't back down from the Bucks, who chose to stay tighter on Garland. The 7-foot Mobley powered his way to the basket and dropped several mid-range jumpers in the lane.
'He scored a lot of different ways,' Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. 'He made everything. He did a little of everything. He did some things, really, everywhere. Mobley made the plays.'
The injuries to Antetokounmpo and three-time All-Star forward Khris Middleton, who hasn't played since Dec. 15 due to a sore right knee, have prevented the Bucks from developing continuity.
Still, they've stayed among the East's top teams.
Budenholzer said Antetokounmpo hasn't sustained a setback. The 28-year-old has been able to participate in 5-on-5 workouts the past few days and his availability is literally on a daily basis.
Budenholzer stressed the decision for him to sit is a collaborative effort, but that ultimately it comes down to Antetokounmpo whether he's ready to play.
HORNETS 122, HAWKS 118
Terry Rozier hit three throws with 1.1 seconds remaining, and undermanned Charlotte overcame a 19-point, third-quarter deficit to end Atlanta's five-game winning streak.
Clint Capela tipped in the miss of Trae Young's missed runner with 5.4 seconds to go for Atlanta, but Rozier, who scored 16 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter, drew a foul from Jalen Johnson and buried the ensuing free throws to win it.
The Hornets, playing without injured leading scorer LaMelo Ball, have won two straight after losing eight of nine. They entered the game 12-34, next-to-last in the Eastern Conference. It was their first consecutive wins since the end of November.
Mason Plumlee finished with a season-high 25 points and P.J. Washington scored 12 of his 23 in the fourth.
Trae Young made one of his last 12 shots and had 25 points. Dejounte Murray scored 26 points and De'Andre Hunter had a season-high 26 for Atlanta.
WIZARDS 138, MAGIC 118
Rui Hachimura equaled a career high with 30 points and Kyle Kuzma added 25 to lift Washington over Orlando.
Bradley Beal scored 17 points in his second game back from a hamstring injury, although Kristaps Porzingis left the game in the third quarter with a left ankle sprain.
Porzingis scored 17 points.
The Wizards won their second straight game with Beal back — and he had eight assists on the night — but now they have another injury to deal with. Porzingis hobbled down the tunnel after hurting his ankle and didn't return.
Markelle Fultz led the Magic with 23 points. Franz Wagner contributed 20 and Paolo Banchero scored 15.
TIMBERWOLVES 113, ROCKETS 104
Anthony Edwards scored a season-high 44 points, D'Angelo Russell added 23 and Minnesota handed Houston its 13th straight loss.
Edwards eclipsed 40 points for the first time this season on 17-of-29 shooting from the field, including seven 3-pointers. Nathan Knight provided a spark of the bench, scoring a season-high 19 points.
Houston's Alperen Sengun scored 19 points and grabbed 16 rebounds, taking advantage of a Timberwolves team that was without Rudy Gobert (right groin soreness) for the third consecutive game. Sengun made his first seven field goals and was the catalyst for Houston outrebounding Minnesota 56-30.
SUNS 112, PACERS 107
Josh Okogie had 24 points and 10 rebounds, Mikal Bridges added 22 points and the short-handed Phoenix Suns won their second straight game, beating the Indiana Pacers 112-107 on Saturday night.
Indiana had a chance to tie on its final possession, but Buddy Hield missed a rushed 3-pointer with two seconds left. The Pacers lost despite a triple-double from T.J. McConnell, who had 18 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds.
Phoenix and its ragtag roster took an 87-83 lead into the fourth quarter. The Suns were once again missing a big chunk of their staring lineup, including the All-Star backcourt of Chris Paul and Devin Booker. Starting center Deandre Ayton was out with a non-COVID-19 illness.
CELTICS 106, RAPORS 104
Grant Williams scored a career-high 25 points, Jaylen Brown had 27 and the Boston Celtics overcame the absence of leading scorer Jayson Tatum to extend their winning streak to nine games by beating the Toronto Raptors 106-104 on Saturday.
Boston's injury woes worsened when guard Marcus Smart injured his right ankle in the final minute of the first half and had to be helped to the locker room. He did not return.
Center Robert Williams stayed in the game after Brown collided with his left knee in the opening quarter. At halftime, Williams was ruled out for the second half because of a hyperextended knee.
76ERS 129, KINGS 127
Tyrese Maxey led the 76ers with 32 points to go along with six assists in the 129-127 point win against the Sacramento Kings.
Georges Niang, Daniel House JR. and Tobias Harris all the game with equal numbers on the score board after the trio all finished the night with 17 points. Shaq Milton came close to doing the same with 15 points off the bench.
The closely contested game down to a battle of the point guards as Kings guard De'Aaron Fox finished the game with 31 points and nine assist as the Sacramento failed to extent their wining streak to seven games.
