Garland, Allen lead Cavaliers past struggling Spurs, 114-109

Updated Jan. 14, 2022 11:06 p.m. ET

Associated Press

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Darius Garland scored 28 points and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat San Antonio 114-109 on Friday night, extending the Spurs’ losing streak to five.

Jarrett Allen finished with 17 points and 16 rebounds for Cleveland, which won its third straight and fourth in five games.

Dejounte Murray had 30 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists for San Antonio, which is 1-7 in the new year. Keldon Johnson added 18 points and Bryn Forbes had 15.

The Spurs struggled against Cleveland’s frontcourt of 7-footers Evan Mobley and Lauri Markkanen, and the 6-11 Allen.

Mobley added 15 points and Markkanen had eight.

The trio also helped stymie Spurs center Jakob Poeltl, who was scoreless on just four field goal attempts and no free throws.

Cleveland shot 53% from the field in the first half, with a pair of alley-oop dunks to Mobley and Allen. The Cavaliers finished with four alley-oop dunks. Allen threw down the final one with 1:53 remaining to give the Cavs a 108-103 lead seconds after Markkanen stuffed a one-handed dunk over Poeltl.

The Cavaliers had a 20-point advantage in scoring 60 points in the paint. The Spurs attempted to keep pace by going 15 for 34 on 3-pointers but couldn’t maintain a lead in the third quarter.

San Antonio was on a 15-6 run in the final 5 ½ minutes of the period to take its largest lead before Cedi Osman drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer to pull Cleveland within 86-84.

TIP-INS

Cavaliers: Point guard Rajon Rondo missed his second straight game with a sore right hamstring. Coach J.B. Bickerstaff did not have an update on Rondo’s return. … Isaac Okoro had six points in 16 minutes in his return after missing five games due to a sprained left elbow. … Cleveland is 14-9 on the road after going 9-27 last season. … Kevin Love had seven points and four rebounds in 16 minutes. He entered the game averaging 18.7 points and 7.6 rebounds in his previous 10 games.

Spurs: Derrick White and Tre Jones remain in the league’s health and safety protocols due to COVID-19. Coach Gregg Popovich said he does not know when either will return. … Murray leads San Antonio in points, assists and steals, and is second in rebounding. He entered the game averaging 18.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, 8.9 assists and 2.1 steals. … Drew Eubanks missed the game with an unspecified illness, which was not COVID-19. Eubanks was in uniform, sitting with the team on the bench.

UP NEXT

Cavaliers: At Oklahoma City on Saturday.

Spurs: Host Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday.