Ty Jerome starred as the Cleveland Cavaliers cruised past the New Orleans Pelicans 128-100 on Wednesday, rebounding emphatically from their first defeat of the season.
Jerome scored 29 points to pace the Cavs, with a torrid second quarter of 20 points and six three-pointers. The Cavaliers, who had their 15-game unbeaten streak snapped Tuesday against Boston, didn’t take long to get back on track with a wire-to-wire home win.
Cleveland took early control, building a 69-55 halftime lead before blowing up in the third quarter. The Cavs outscored the Pelicans 36-18 and surged to a 32-point advantage heading into the final period, putting the game away early.
Georges Niang supported Jerome’s shooting clinic with 20 points on six three-pointers. This, of course, was an about-face to Tuesday’s NBA Cup defeat at the hands of the Celtics when the Cavaliers struggled to connect with consistency from beyond the arc.
“It was great-those moments don’t happen a lot in the NBA, said Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson of Jerome’s electric second quarter. “It was like a superstar performance, quite honestly. It was great for the crowd, great for the group, and great for Ty”.
With the win, Cleveland ran its record to 16-1, further entrenching themselves atop the Eastern Conference, while the struggling Pelicans fell to 4-12, losers of nine of their last 10, and sitting near the bottom of the Western Conference.
Elsewhere in the league, Giannis Antetokounmpo produced yet another dominant performance with 41 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists as the Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Chicago Bulls 122-106. Brook Lopez and Damian Lillard contributed 21 and 20 points, respectively, as the Bucks moved up to 10th in the East.
In Memphis, Joel Embiid scored a season-high 35 points for the Philadelphia 76ers but couldn’t prevent a 117-111 loss to the Grizzlies. Meanwhile, Jalen Williams scored 30 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 109-99, keeping pressure on Western leaders Golden State.
