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NBA: Evan Mobley on Jarrett Allen’s showing in Game 7: “He seemed like he was locked in from the jump. He just kept rebounding the ball every single chance he got.” ALLEN: First player since Nikola Jokić in 2020 to total 20+ PTS, 15+ REB, and 3+ BLK in a Game 7 👀
In the first two games, James Harden carved up the Raptors’ defense with his pick-and-roll brilliance. In those contests, the Cavaliers had a 121.1 offensive rating in Harden’s minutes (the average offensive rating this postseason is 111.0). Credit to the Raptors, though, they weren’t just going to stand there and fall victim to Harden-ball. They used their defensive versatility to flip the script on him. In Game 1, the Raptors had RJ Barrett on Harden, Scottie Barnes on Evan Mobley, and Poeltl on Allen. Meanwhile, Game 4, those assignments were Barnes on Harden, Poeltl on Mobley, and Barrett on Allen. This adjustment is meaningful because Harden wants to go at Poeltl in pick-and-roll with Allen as his roll man, since Allen is a superior screener and finisher to Mobley.
92.3 The Fan: “I was going to put Donovan (Mitchell) and Evan (Mobley) back in and they said, ‘no, this group’s rolling.’ That never happens in the NBA.” #Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson on the stars recognizing what was working in the fourth quarter
“I was going to put Donovan (Mitchell) and Evan (Mobley) back in and they said, ‘no, this group’s rolling.’ That never happens in the NBA.”#Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson on the stars recognizing what was working in the fourth quarter pic.twitter.com/hK1Xfb1Cj1
— 92.3 The Fan (@923TheFan) April 30, 2026
Danny Cunningham: #Cavs comeback to beat the Raptors 125-120. It was far from Cleveland's best, but it was good enough. Harden and Mobley both had 23 points, Mitchell had 19. Dennis Schroder had 19 off the bench and may have saved Cleveland's season. Cavs lead the series 3-2.
That goes for this series and beyond. Just after halftime in Game 4, the Cavaliers made a point of getting Evan Mobley the ball and going at Poeltl. They got two easy buckets. Collin Murray-Boyles came in shortly after and changed the dynamic. Mobley was barely heard from again, scoring just two points after Murray-Boyles replaced Poeltl midway through the quarter. (The bucket, again, came when the Cavs attacked Poeltl.) According to NBA.com’s matchup data, the Cavaliers have scored just 48 points in 70 possessions when the rookie has guarded Mobley in the series. With Barnes needed to slow down Harden, Murray-Boyles has been massive in that sense.
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Richard Jefferson: Who is the guard that when you get the opportunity, is it Luka? Is it a Steph? Is it Cade? Who is it? Evan Mobley: Definitely Kevin Durant. I like the challenge of that. I mean cuz he's Kevin Durant.
Kevin O'Connor: 31 players defended 200+ isolations this year. Rudy Gobert ranked #1, allowing 0.77 points per iso. Evan Mobley was 3rd & Bam Adebayo was 5th to give some context for the company he's in. Gobert a more complete, dominant defender now than when he won his 3 DPOY in '18, '19 & '21.
Danny Cunningham: #Cavs beat the Raptors 115-105 in Game 2. Mitchell, Harden and Mobley were all outstanding in a wire-to-wire win for Cleveland. That trio combined for 83 points and the Raptors might just not have an answer for Cleveland's high-end talent. Cleveland leads the series 2-0.
Danny Cunningham: #Cavs beat the Toronto Raptors in Game 1 126-113. Donovan Mitchell led all scorers with 32 points, Max Strus had 24 off the bench, James Harden had 22 & 10 and Evan Mobley had 17. A relatively stress-free win for the Cavs. Cleveland leads the series 1-0.
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Crazy Stats: Despite missing 17 games this season, Evan Mobley led all players in total dunks with 207. He became the seventh player since the @NBA started tracking play-by-play data (1996-97) to lead the league in dunks multiple times (also in 2022-23).
Automatic: Worst (most detrimental) shooters.
Worst (most detrimental) shooters. https://t.co/pA2qy1jVO9 pic.twitter.com/q2GP5n92ij
— Automatic (@automaticnba) April 13, 2026
Donovan Mitchell scored 31 points, Evan Mobley had 22 points and tied a career high with 19 rebounds, and the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Atlanta Hawks 122-116 on Wednesday night. James Harden added 21 points for the Cavaliers, who have won four straight and seven of eight. Cleveland (51-29) can finish no lower than fourth place in the Eastern Conference and is 1/2 game behind New York for the third seed.
