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Cleveland Cavaliers rally past Washington Wizards 121-111 as Evan Mobley hits five threes and AJ Dybantsa scores 19 in his NBA debut
Evan Mobley scored 24 with five threes and the Cavaliers came back from 13 down, spoiling a 19-point debut by No. 1 pick AJ Dybantsa.
In this article
Evan Mobley scored 24 points with a career-high five threes, Peyton Watson added 22, and the Cleveland Cavaliers came back from 13 points down to beat the Washington Wizards 121-111 at Rocket Arena on Wednesday, October 28, spoiling AJ Dybantsa’s NBA debut. Cleveland has won three straight and is 3-1. Washington is 2-3.
Dybantsa, the No. 1 pick in June’s draft, scored 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting in 26 minutes after missing the first four games with a sprained left ankle. He started, scored nine points in the first quarter and added 2 rebounds and 2 assists. Mobley made 8 of 12 shots, including 5 of 6 threes, and had 12 rebounds. He scored 10 of his points in the fourth quarter.
How it turned
Dybantsa made two free throws 16 seconds into his first game, and his first field goal was a dunk on a long lob from Trae Young. Alex Sarr scored 13 points in the first half, and Washington scored 42 points in the first quarter and led 69-59 at halftime. Dybantsa scored on a layup and an alley-oop from Kyshawn George early in the third quarter, and the Wizards led 76-63 with 10:10 left in the period.
Video: NBA / X.
Cleveland outscored Washington 29-16 over the rest of the quarter. Sam Merrill hit two threes, Jaylon Tyson scored five points, and Donovan Mitchell’s two free throws with 33.8 seconds left tied it 92-92 going into the fourth. Mobley’s alley-oop dunk in the first minute of the quarter gave the Cavaliers their first lead since the first quarter, and his back-to-back threes made it 102-97 with 9:22 left.
Video: Cleveland Cavaliers / X.
Deandre Ayton scored four straight Washington points, Davis hit a jumper, and Dybantsa’s pull-up jumper with 6:16 left put Washington back in front, 105-104. Cleveland answered with nine straight points: a running layup by Meleek Thomas, a jumper by Watson, a three by Mario Hezonja and a floater by James Harden made it 113-105 with 3:28 left. Mitchell and Watson scored the next four Cavaliers points, and Mobley and Harden closed it at the free-throw line.
The numbers
Cleveland outrebounded Washington 47-27, with 15 offensive rebounds, made 21 of 22 free throws and scored 19 points off the Wizards’ 10 turnovers. Washington shot 44-of-83 (53%) and scored 66 points in the paint, but made only 8 of 32 threes. Watson shot 9-of-17 with 6 rebounds, Mitchell had 19 points and 7 assists, and Harden scored 16 on 5-of-18 shooting with 6 assists. Jarrett Allen had 8 points and 12 rebounds, and Thomas scored 10 off the bench.
Washington’s side
Anthony Davis and Sarr scored 18 each, and Sarr added 4 steals. Bilal Coulibaly made 8 of 9 shots for 17 points off the bench. George had 8 points and 11 assists, and Young scored 14 on 3-of-12 shooting with 8 assists and 4 turnovers. The Wizards were without Tre Johnson (Achilles), Justin Champagnie (foot), Tristan Vukcevic (hip) and Jamir Watkins (knee).
What’s next
The Cavaliers visit the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday, October 29, at 8 p.m. ET (3 a.m. Friday Cairo time). The Wizards host the Charlotte Hornets on Friday, October 30, at 7 p.m. ET (2 a.m. Saturday Cairo time).
Full box score and play-by-play: Game Center. All-time head-to-head.
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