All-Star starter Donovan Mitchell had 11 points in his return for Cleveland after missing three games with a strained groin. The Cavaliers never trailed adn took their largest lead of the season at 82-42 on Jarrett Allen’s first three-pointer since Nov. 5, 2021.
The Clippers had won five in a row. They opted not to dress forward Kawhi Leonard and guards Paul George and Reggie Jackson, all of whom played Saturday in a victory in Atlanta. Officially, George and Leonard were reported as being out because of right knee trouble and Jackson has a sore right Achilles.
Turkey national team member Osman made 11 of 13 shots on Turkish Heritage Night at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. The Cavaliers have the best home record in the East at 21-5.
Darius Garland had 16 points and 10 assists for Cleveland.
Brandon Boston Jr. scored 24 points and Moses Brown had 13 points and 16 rebounds for Los Angeles. Rookie Jason Preston from Ohio University had season highs of 12 points and eight rebounds.
The performance was in stark contrast to Cleveland’s 120-114 home loss to Golden State nine days earlier, when the Warriors sat Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins.
Allen had 15 points and eight rebounds, and Evan Mobley added nine points and nine boards. The Cavaliers had lost four of their previous six, but remained fifth in the East.
Los Angeles is 1-1 on a six-game road trip that ends Feb. 6 in Brooklyn. The Clippers missed 16 of their first 17 3-pointers and finished 2 of 19 beyond the arc.
The Cavaliers’ largest victory margin in the series was 111-79, set on Jan. 19, 1971, against the then-Buffalo Braves.
Welcome back to Cleveland
Clippers coach Tyronn Lue took the Cavaliers to three straight NBA Finals appearances, winning their lone championship in 2016. Kevin Love and Osman are the only remaining Cleveland players who played for Lue.
“When you lose LeBron (James) and Kyrie (Irving), usually it’s going to take a long time to get back,” said Lue, who went 128-83 in four seasons with the Cavaliers. “To be where they are now, they’ve done a great job putting together this team.
“It started with the trade for Jarrett Allen, which was out of this world, and getting Donovan Mitchell this year took them to the next level.”
Notes: Terance Mann had the only assist by a Los Angeles starter in the first half. … Marcus Morris (bruised rib) missed his third consecutive game and Robert Covington (personal reasons) sat out his second in a row. John Wall (abdominal soreness) has not played since Jan. 13 against Denver. … Two-way C Moses Brown came off the bench after spending the previous six games with Ontario in the G League.
Up next for the Clippers: at Chicago on Tuesday night.