Mobley, Allen, Mitchell Hold Off Porter's Furious Brooklyn Push
Cleveland survived a 28-point, 4-steal night from Michael Porter Jr. to beat Brooklyn 125-121, but the Nets made them sweat every second of the fourth quarter. Porter's 23-foot three-pointer with 8.1 seconds left swung Cleveland's win probability from 94% to 88% — a reminder that this game was never truly safe.
The first quarter was a street fight. Brooklyn and Cleveland traded punches through the opening twelve minutes, with neither team able to separate by more than four points. Egor Demin got the Nets going early, assisting on Keon Ellis's tying three and Day'Ron Sharpe's answering bomb after Evan Mobley had pushed Cleveland ahead. Julius Randle then took over — a three, a mid-range, a free throw — to give Brooklyn a 14-12 lead. But Mobley kept answering, hitting back-to-back threes and a driving layup, all with James Harden orchestrating. The quarter's final minute was pure chaos: Nolan Traore's driving layup, Jarrett Allen's tip-in dunk to tie it, a Traore free throw, then Jaylon Tyson drilling a 30-footer to flip the lead — and then, at the buzzer, Mario Hezonja buried a 25-foot three off a Tyson assist to send Cleveland into the second up 35-30. That sequence, the story of the night was already written in miniature: Cleveland's depth and composure under pressure.
The second quarter extended Cleveland's advantage. Hezonja opened with another three, Mitchell added free throws, and even with Brooklyn's reserves chipping away — Chaney Johnson hitting a three, Mikel Brown Jr. pulling up from twelve — Cleveland maintained a cushion. Evan Mobley punctuated the half with a dunk to push it to 42-37. The Nets were never blown out, but they were consistently chasing. Porter, Randle, and Demin all finished with 28, 23, and 22 points respectively — three guys cracking 20 on the losing side is a real number, and it speaks to how hard Brooklyn competed — but Cleveland had three 20-point performers of their own in Mitchell (22), Allen (21), and Mobley (20), with Mobley adding 10 rebounds and 3 blocks for good measure.
The fourth quarter is where Porter made his case. His 23-foot three with 8.1 seconds remaining cut the deficit and swung Cleveland's win probability from 94% to 88%, but it wasn't enough. Cleveland held on, 125-121. Mobley's 10-rebound, 4-assist, 3-block line looks like the most complete performance of the night — the kind of two-way effort that wins close games. Allen's 21 points and 8 rebounds off the interior were equally critical. Brooklyn's eight coach's decisions on the DNP list — including Danny Wolf, Terance Mann, Drake Powell, and others — left the Nets thin, and it appears that depth gap ultimately cost them when Cleveland's bench held serve in the second quarter. Porter gave Brooklyn everything he had. It just wasn't quite enough.