The Cleveland Cavaliers keep setting new marks this season.
They made the most of hosting an undermanned Dallas Mavericks team to make a big statement.
Kenny Atkinson’s team scored a franchise-best 91 points in the first half.
By the third quarter, the game was already out of reach, allowing the coach to clear the bench.
When asked about that, the first-year coach claimed that being able to do something like that was huge because it helps prevent injuries (via Daryl Ruiter).
#Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson on a record afternoon & the benefits of getting to empty the bench in the 3rd Q pic.twitter.com/bBohuWOgUA
— Daryl Ruiter (@RuiterWrongFAN) February 3, 2025
The Cavs have been stung by the injury bug lately.
The All-Star break is still a couple of weeks away from now, and we’ve seen how teams often limp their way there in the past.
You want to have fresh legs for the second half of the season.
The Cavs have had the best record in the league for most of the campaign, but they know that it might all become meaningless if they don’t get the job done when it matters the most.
That’s why they’re trying to make a statement and take care of business early in games.
This kind of performance proves the aggressive approach this team has taken this season.
They’re not looking past anybody, not even teams missing most of their key rotation players.
Some might feel that running up the score like that is disrespectful, but it was nice to see the second unit and guys who don’t get to play that much making the most of every chance they got.
NEXT: Evan Mobley Gets Honest About Cavs' Win On Sunday
