Despite playing without Nikola Jokic, the Cavaliers were able to outwork the Nuggets and win 121–109.with inaOhio’s Cleveland — Dominating the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets is no picnic. Even less likely is the idea of doing it without the four regulars from the nightly rotation.

Or not.

Following a bye week, the Cavaliers shocked Denver with a 121-109 victory on Sunday night. For for the second time this season, Cleveland has won three in a row, putting them above.500. After winning their first two games of the season, the uninterested Nuggets have dropped their last three away from home.

A victorious sports Sunday in The Land was capped off by the Cavaliers’ 48-minute outwork of the reigning champs, which they accomplished despite all those absences.

The party in Cleveland didn’t end with the game, either, because minority owner and Browns player Myles Garrett was seated courtside and energized the fans during a pregame timeout. First, the opposing Steelers were defeated by Garrett’s Browns. Subsequently, the Cavaliers, who were, at least in part, Garrett’s, made a statement of their own by easily defeating a league powerhouse.

Nikola Jokic, Denver’s geocentric tour de force and a two-time MVP, is the man to beаt.

Jokic wasted the night away on the bench after being in foul trouble for the majority of the game and being frustrated by Cleveland’s excellent big me𝚗 the whole time.

It was obvious early in the second half that Jokic was irritated by the Cavaliers’ aggressiveness and doggedness. As the third quarter came to a close, Jokic was called for two consecutive оffensive fouls; the second of these was later escalated to a flagrant foul 1 when he elbowed Jarrett Allen during a spin move. He was benched for the rest of the quarter as a result of the MVP candidate’s fifth foul.

By that point, the Cavaliers had a 17-point lead. The lead eventually surpassed 20 points for the first time a few moments afterward. Jokic came back for the Nuggets early in the fourth quarter, when they were down 17, with the hopes of igniting one final comeback. Nevertheless, that did not materialize. Tonight, there will be no ignition switch.

Jokic and the other starters were benched by Denver coach Michael Malone at about the six-minute mark of the fourth quarter.

The Cavaliers were led by point guard Darius Garland. He had a career-best 26 points and 6 assists. A career-high 21 points were scored by rookie Craig Porter Jr., who shot 7 of 10 from the floor. He has scored in double digits in four consecutive games. With 10 boards and 16 points, third-year forward Evan Mobley finished with a double-double.

Along with his 15 points, 5 boards, and 5 assists, Allen had a solid game. In a furious four-minute span to start the third quarter, Alen scored ten points in a row; these were the first ten points scored by Cleveland, who went on a 16-3 run after halftime.

Max Strus scored 11 points, and he was a member of the Miami Heat that lost to the Denver Nuggets in last year’s NBA Finals.

More over 43 minutes passed with the Cavs leading. In the second half, they had a lead of 26 points, which was the game-high.

In 28 minutes played, Jokic finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists. He congratulated each and every coach and player for the Cavaliers the second the buzzer rang.

On Sunday night, stopping Jokic and the Nuggets required a collective effort from the entire squad. Even without key players, the Cavaliers were able to handle the task.

A genuine mindset of progressing to the next level.