Cavaliers top Pelicans, celebrating franchise’s first 9-0 start

On By Littum

NEW ORLEANS — Starting with Jarrett Allen, the Cleveland Cavaliers celebrated the first 9-0 start to a season in franchise history by pouring water bottles over coach Kenny Atkinson’s head in the locker room.

There will be much bigger, higher-stakes games than the Cavs’ 131-122 win in New Orleans Wednesday evening.

But Atkinson didn’t mind taking a moment to enjoy something no other Cavs team had done in the 55 years since Cleveland entered the NBA for the 1970-71 season.

“You have to,” said Atkinson, who also became the first NBA coach to win his first nine games with a new team. “This season is so long. It’s so hard to win in this league. So when you have moments like this, you have to celebrate a little bit.”

After hitting 54.2% of their shots in the Big Easy – including 48.6% (17 of 35) from 3-point range – the Cavs are shooting an NBA-best 52.6% on the season from the field.

“We’re playing good basketball,” said All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell, who had a team-high 29 points in New Orleans while five other teammates scored 11 or more. “We’ve done it in so many different ways. We’ve had blowouts, close games, come-from-behind wins.

“It’s just the habits that really get me excited about what we’re doing. My biggest thing is just being consistent. Let’s be this team all the time.”

Cleveland next plays at home on Friday night against the Golden State Warriors, who set the NBA record for the best start to a season by winning their first 24 games during the 2015-16 campaign.

Against the Pelicans, the Cavs got 50 points from the reserves, while four of five starters scored 14 or more. They are the second team to start 9-0 while scoring 110 or more points in every game in NBA history, joining the 1960-61 Warriors.

“Again, everyone contributes,” Atkinson said. “That’s what good teams do. We’re in a good place physically. We’re in a good place mentally.

“When you win nine in a row, it’s not one or two guys; it’s the whole roster.”

In his previous four seasons as Brooklyn’s head coach, Atkinson had just one winning record, going 42-40 in 2018-19.

He spent the past four seasons as an assistant – the first with the LA Clippers and the last three with Golden State.

Now, he’s off to a fairly promising start in his second head coaching stint, though, with a team that won a playoff series a season ago and was expected to be in the Eastern Conference postseason picture again this season.

“The vibes are great, the energy is great, he’s done a phenomenal job with us and we’ve bought in, too,” Mitchell said. “He’s given us input, but also allowed us to give input ourselves, and I think that’s the special thing.”

Atkinson, meanwhile, sounds pleased with the synergy he has felt not only among his players, but between them and himself.

“What I think about is this team and the camaraderie they have and the chemistry we have going on and how connected they are,” said Atkinson, who replaced the sacked JB Bickerstaff. “I’ve been lucky to land with a really good group, a group that has been really successful in the past and I’m happy for them – and I think they’re happy for me in the dressing room.

“There’s a bond between the head coach and a team. You have to celebrate those moments and that’s pretty cool.”

Information from ESPN Research and The Associated Press was used in this report.