CLEVELAND, Ohio — Darius Garland hit the clutch jumper. Donovan Mitchell had the ferocious dunk. Jarrett Allen pulled down the man-sized offensive rebound, rescuing another stagnant possession. De’Andre Hunter buried a pair of critical free throws.
But Friday night’s 113-108 escape against the undermanned Denver Nuggets doesn’t happen without unheralded reserve Craig Porter Jr.
For the second time in the last three games, Porter was at the epicenter of a fourth-quarter comeback.
“He does every little thing that you need,” Mitchell said of Porter. “It’s great to see him having this role and having this impact. He’s another guy that used this summer to take his game and to take everything he can and do it to another level. You start to see it come out.”
Following a disappointing 2024-25 campaign — a season in which Porter got shoved down the depth chart, received numerous DNPs and played a career-low in minutes — the youngster took a more cutthroat approach. He dedicated himself to the weight room, getting in the best shape of his career. He no longer looked at basketball as a game but rather his livelihood. And just like Ty Jerome, who ripped away the backup point guard minutes a year earlier, Porter was going to have to do the same.
It took about two months. But he finally has. At the expense of veteran Lonzo Ball.
The rotational change finally came Monday night in San Antonio, as coach Kenny Atkinson removed Ball. After the game, Atkinson said the reasoning was two-fold: A chance to look at different combinations and then to give Ball a needed reset — mentally and physically. That swap carried over into Wednesday, with old mainstay Ball glued to the bench while Porter logged 29 minutes, his second most this season.
Even though Ball was back in the lineup Friday — and made a positive impact in those 15 minutes — it didn’t come at the detriment of Porter like earlier this season. Ball’s re-emergence was out of necessity, with Dean Wade (knee soreness) and Sam Merrill (ankle) both unavailable.
When the Cavs are back near full strength, Atkinson will need to make another difficult decision.
Only he can’t afford to go away from Porter. He’s been too good. He’s earned his spot.
Friday is the latest example.
In 23 minutes, Porter scored 10 points, dished out five assists, grabbed five rebounds, including two on the offensive end, had two steals and swatted a shot. He finished plus-6 — his fourth straight game on the right side of that metric. Porter now has the fourth-best plus-minus of anyone on the roster, behind just Mitchell, Allen and Evan Mobley.
“He comes in and brings energy,” Hunter said of Porter. “He’s picking up guys full, he’s getting steals, he’s coming in crashing the glass. He’s doing all the things we need. And he can score too. Definitely a big boost coming off the bench.”
Just like Monday in San Antonio — a night the team was staring at a loss that would’ve sent it to .500 — Porter helped spark a turnaround.
After a lethargic third, the Cavs entered the final period trailing the Nuggets by nine — until an 11-4 burst that brought the sellout crowd back to life and filled a team with hope once again.
Porter accounted for seven of those 11 points.
There was a dribble-drive against the Denver zone that ended with an Allen alley-oop layup, a signature offensive rebound putback — one of Cleveland’s 23 second-chance points — and a timely triple that caused the bench to erupt.
“That’s one of my favorite guys. I love playing with Craig,” Allen beamed. “He’s looking for people on the roll. His defensive effort is incredible. I don’t know the exact stat line but felt like he did everything tonight. People sleep on Craig. He gets it done.”
With an immeasurable nightly impact, Porter is suddenly a linchpin of Cleveland’s revamped bench group.
“I feel like it’s just a lot of grit,” Porter said when asked about that identity. “We come in, we want to pressure the ball, we want to get into guys, force turnovers and run in transition. We just want to play fast.”
Porter’s attack-minded style and ability to get downhill is part of what prompted the recent rotational change, especially with Atkinson incessantly preaching it during film sessions, shootarounds and practices.
That playmaking skillset, which accompanies disruptive defense, has also alleviated some of Mitchell’s usual offensive burden while creating better balance.
With those two on the floor — now anchors of a five-man lineup that typically starts the second and fourth quarters together — the Cavs are outscoring opponents by 15.5 points per 100 possessions. It’s the third-best mark of any duo that has logged at least 40 total minutes together. By comparison, Mitchell and Ball have a net rating of 3.8. Some combos just seem to click better. That’s the case with Mitchell-Porter.
“He makes my life a hell of a lot easier,” Mitchell said of Porter. “There’s a trust there.”
