Cleveland, Ohio: Cavaliers Rally Past Wizards 121-111 as Mobley Scores 24 and Spoils Dybantsa Debut

Cleveland, Ohio gave the No. 1 draft pick a loud welcome and then took his debut away from him. Evan Mobley scored 24 points with a career-high five 3-pointers, Peyton Watson added 22, and the Cavaliers rallied from 13 points down to beat the Washington Wizards 121-111 at Rocket Arena on Wednesday night, their third straight win.

The second half turned the game

Washington led 69-59 at halftime and stretched the margin to 76-63 early in the third quarter on an alley-oop dunk by rookie AJ Dybantsa off a pass from Kyshawn George. Cleveland answered with a 33-23 third quarter and tied the game 92-92 on two Donovan Mitchell free throws in the final minute of the period. Mobley's layup with 11:19 left in the fourth put the Cavaliers ahead 94-92, their first lead since late in the first quarter.

Dybantsa gave Washington one last lead, 105-104, on a jumper with 6:16 remaining. Cleveland then scored nine straight points, capped by a Mario Hezonja 3-pointer and a James Harden jumper, to build a 113-105 lead with 3:28 left, and closed out a perfect three-game homestand.

"We came out like it was the old Wizards," coach Kenny Atkinson said, according to Hoops Wire. "I told the guys at halftime, 'This is different.' So I'm glad we turned it around and treated them with the proper respect."

Mobley carried the closing stretch

Mobley shot 8 of 12 from the field and 5 of 6 from 3-point range, scored 10 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter, and shared the team rebounding lead with Jarrett Allen at 12 apiece. Watson, acquired from Denver in the offseason, finished with 22 points and six rebounds in 28 minutes. Mitchell had 19 points and seven assists, Allen added eight points, 12 rebounds and three blocks, and rookie Meleek Thomas scored 10 off the bench.

A strong debut in a loss

Dybantsa, the No. 1 pick in the June draft, led Washington with 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting in 26 minutes in his first NBA game. He had missed the Wizards' first four games with a sprained left ankle suffered on Oct. 16 in the preseason finale against New Orleans. His nine first-quarter points were the most by a Wizards rookie in a debut since at least 1996-97, according to Sportradar. Anthony Davis and Alex Sarr scored 18 apiece for Washington, Bilal Coulibaly added 17 while making his first eight shots, and George handed out 11 assists.

The win was Cleveland's 17th straight over Washington, tying the franchise record for the longest winning streak against one opponent and standing as the longest active streak in the league. The Cavaliers improved to 3-1 after squandering a 29-point lead in their opener at Philadelphia, and Washington fell to 2-3. Cleveland plays at Atlanta on Thursday night, and the Wizards host Charlotte on Friday night.