Cleveland Cavaliers rookie guard Meleek Thomas made his NBA debut count, scoring 16 points in 19 minutes as the Cavaliers rallied for a 127-125 overtime victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night in Cleveland.
Thomas, the 34th overall pick in June's NBA draft, had not seen the floor in Cleveland's first two games. He entered for Peyton Watson with 5:53 left in the first quarter, missed his first shot, then made a running layup before the period ended. He played 10 minutes in the first half and was the Cavaliers' leading scorer at that point with 10 points. He finished 6 of 10 from the field, including 4 of 5 from 3-point range, with two rebounds and one steal.
The performance drew praise from All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell, who led Cleveland with 25 points. "For him to be the spark in his first game of the year is not normal," Mitchell said. "He made some mistakes but they were aggressive. He was fearless." Mitchell also said Thomas's attention to detail on defense surprised him.
Coach Kenny Atkinson said he had held Thomas out against Philadelphia and Brooklyn because of matchup problems, but wanted a third ball handler to take pressure off Mitchell and James Harden. Thomas's 16 points were the second-most by a Cavs rookie in his debut off the bench, behind Brevin Knight's 18 against Houston in October 1997.
Cleveland trailed by 15 in the first half before rallying in the third quarter and forcing overtime. Thomas sat for the final 9:35 of the game, but Mitchell credited the rookie for the win. Atkinson said the team had been bullish on Thomas since the day they drafted him.
Source: ESPN NBA · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing