Allen, Cavs surge in February

CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Cavaliers have won all six games they've played in February and have won them by an average of 17.3 points. That includes Saturday's 97-89 victory over the Chicago Bulls.

All-star Donovan Mitchell scored 19 of his 29 points in the second half and added 10 rebounds while Darius Garland poured in 19 for Cleveland, which trailed 61-48 in the third quarter before unleashing a 43-17 run to go up by 13.

Jarrett Allen had 23 points and 10 rebounds. He has now logged four consecutive 20-plus point games for the first time in his career.

"There's a desire and a blunt force that he's playing with," said Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff. "He's attacking the rim ferociously, putting people on notice where people don't even want to get between him and the basket anymore."

Evan Mobley had 14 points and Garland dished out seven assists, helping Cleveland extend its lead over Brooklyn

for fourth place in the Eastern Conference to 21⁄2 games entering Sunday. The Nets took on the New York Knicks Sunday night.

Cavs guard Dylan Windler (right ankle sprain) was available off the bench. The 2019 first-round pick dressed for just the second time this season after being available, but not playing, on Nov. 2 against the Boston Celtics. He subsequently experienced multiple setbacks.

“It's been tough because there have been random bumps in the road that you can't account for,” Bickerstaff said.

Windler has only appeared in 81 games as a pro.

Sunday marked the second half of a challenging back-to-back set for the Cavaliers, who arrived in Cleveland at 4 a.m. following their 118-107 win in New Orleans. That nationally-televised game tipped after 10 p.m. Eastern.

The Cavs will next host the San Antonio Spurs on Monday. Cleveland is 24-6 this season at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.

Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon Journal contributed to this report.