Kenny Atkinson gushed about Cleveland Cavaliers big man Jarrett Allen, following his 40-point night in a 130-111 win over the Portland Trail Blazers
"It's the best I've ever seen him play," Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson said of Jarrett Allen's career night in a 130-111 win over Portland on Sunday.
Allen dropped a career high 40 points to really punctuate the performance, but it was more than just the scoring for Cleveland's big man.
He was highly efficient, knocking down 16-of-23 shots from the floor, while also pulling in a career-high 17 boards to go along with it, matching his career-high in assists with five and setting another career mark with four blocked shots.
"Not just the points, I know everyone is gonna talk about the points, but the rebounds, the defense," Atkinson added. "It was surreal. From the get-go, from the tip, he just completely dominated the match."
There were signs early on in the game that it was going to be a big night for Allen. After the first quarter, he had dropped 16 of the Cavaliers 29 points, on eight-of-10 shooting. That stanza seemed to set a tone for the rest of the game that Allen was going to be a focal point.
"First quarter I felt like I was going to have a special game," Allen said of his performance. “Then it kept rolling for me. I wanted to keep it going. My game is predicated on other people creating for me and we were able to create shots all game."
There was clearly a concerted effort to get Allen rolling early. He was one of only four players who even scored in the first quarter. Stunningly, Donovan Mitchell wasn't one of them. Atkinson was thrilled to see Allen get rolling early on and then carry the momentum into the later stages of the game.
“When he’s involved, when he’s touching the ball, you just get a different J.A.,” Atkinson said. “We kept feeding him. And then he took a lot on his own shoulders. His energy was just off the charts. His aggressiveness was off the charts."
As for why Allen's career effort came in Portland of all places, there was at least one prevailing theory.
"Someone told me it’s because he was in Portland and likes artsy cities," joked Atkinson. "Maybe that was it."