CLEVELAND, Ohio — There were many emotions leading up to Saturday’s contest between the Cavs and Brooklyn Nets, spilling onto the floor in a scrappy, back-and-forth game between two teams reeling in the second game of a back-to-back.

After losing their initial lead and trailing in the fourth, the Cavs stormed back for a gritty 105-100 win, becoming just the 12th team in NBA history to start a season 11-0.

Kenny Atkinson has led the Cavs to their best start in franchise history, but the last two games he wanted a little more than the rest.

On Friday, he faced off against Golden State and Steve Kerr, the team and coach that Atkinson credits heavily for his development to get to where he is. On Saturday, he took on the team that gave him his first shot at being a head coach.

With his new team, Atkinson beat them both.

“Last night I was like, man, I wanted that game because you’ve had such great experience with the team you were with, but you also want to beat ‘em,” Atkinson said ahead of the matchup with Brooklyn. “It’s the same with the Nets. Wonderful experience I had, but there’s always a little something extra when you’ve been with a team before. So a little more awareness, a little more tension. You want it a little more.”

Again, on Saturday, the Cavs got off to a fast start, playing for their coach and to continue their unbeaten streak.

Donovan Mitchell scored 15 of his 22 points in the first quarter and the Cavs shot 75% from the field in the opening frame. Evan Mobley was perfect at halftime with 13 points, shooting 5 of 5 from the field while corralling 10 rebounds and recording his first double-double in a single half since Nov. 28, 2023, in the first half versus the Atlanta Hawks.

But the second period saw the Nets, who entered Saturday with the second slowest pace in the NBA, dictate the speed of the game and claw back from a 15-point deficit, as the Cavs led by just two at halftime.

The Cavs have expressed their desire to come out in the second half with the same energy they start the games with. Especially after Friday’s game where they were lackadaisical with a 41-point halftime lead, the Cavs and Atkinson had the opportunity on Saturday to correct that mistake with it still on their minds.

“I don’t know what our third quarter stats say, [but] I think that’s our next hurdle,” Atkinson said at his pregame press conference Saturday. “Obviously (Friday) night was not a good one. I know this team has struggled in the third quarter. It seems to me the great teams are third quarter teams too, so we got to do a better job coming out of the locker room.”

Even with the extra emphasis, the Cavs saw the Nets go on a 30-5 run and take a double-digit lead in the third quarter after the Cavs scored just 13 points to open the second half.

But when trailing by 12 points entering the final frame, the Cavs roared back behind the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse crowd.

Although they had plenty to be disgruntled with outside of their first quarter performance, the Cavs wouldn’t go away quietly.

The Cavs have proven themselves to be starters and finishers with players who can step up when the game comes down to the wire. In a game that saw both teams take double-digit leads, it came down to the final six minutes.

And the pressure of letting their winning streak slip from their fingers was felt.

“Normally, this is 11 games in, you’re not thinking about a streak,” Atkinson said postgame. “But tonight, you’re like, man, I don’t want it to end this way. … We’re trying to win every game, but it’s kind of weirdly in the back of your mind when you’re out there competing, like, man, we got to keep this thing going.”

Their surge back began when Atkinson called for a small-ball lineup that had never played together before, consisting of Mitchell, Darius Garland, Caris LeVert, Ty Jerome, and Mobley at the five.

Atkinson went to Mobley as the center for the entire fourth quarter as the 7-footer forced more problems both offensively and defensively than Jarrett Allen had to that point. Mobley finished with 23 points, 16 rebounds, four steals and a game-sealing block. He was 10 of 11 from the field.

With that five-man group on the floor, the Cavs were confident that any player could create offense while being stout on defense. And with this lineup playing the majority of the minutes in the final period, Cleveland flipped the script. The Cavs scored 35 points while holding the Nets to 18, finishing on a 26-11 run.

“Defensively, we locked in, got stops, got rebounds, boxed out, didn’t miss opportunities,” Mitchell said. “We did all the little things, and I think that’s what you saw tonight, just the effort as a whole. And that’s what made this one special.”

Jerome, who finished with four points, five assists and two steals, forced a shot clock violation against Dennis Schroder. The stop led to a LeVert layup. On the very next possession, Jerome forced another turnover that led to a LeVert dunk, cutting the Nets lead to two.

Then the Cavs turned to their most reliable star to close the game. Garland finished with 20 points, including eight in the final five minutes, along with six assists.

“He’s got everything,” Atkinson praised. “He’s a complete, complete point guard. But I had heard there were some, maybe last year there was some end of game [issues]. It didn’t always go great. But, from my point of view, just, you know, coaching him for the first time, I’m just blown away [by] his control of end of game situations.”

Garland’s 5-foot floater with 1:24 left gave the Cavs 101 points, a score the Nets would never reach, as Cleveland held Brooklyn scoreless over the last minute of the contest.

“We fought for 48 minutes, literally,” Garland said before Mitchell drenched him with a water bottle. “That was a big (expletive) win. .,. It was a great effort from everybody. We needed everybody tonight.

“We know how hard it is to win in this league. And now, 11 in a row. 11-0. We’re the hunted. We’re not the hunters no more.”

Up Next

The Cavs now take their 11-0 streak on the road to face the Chicago Bulls on Monday with tipoff set at 8 p.m. Eastern.