Collin Sexton Scored A Career-High 29 Points As The Cavs Beat The Rockets

Collin Sexton has the unenviable task of being the guy the Cleveland Cavaliers drafted in the same offseason they lost LeBron James. The Cavs took Sexton eighth overall in the 2018 NBA Draft, and while he boasted plenty of talent, no one expected the point guard out of the University of Alabama to be a star anywhere near the level where James presides.

It also doesn’t help that rookie point guards oftentimes need time to get used to life in the NBA, meaning that Sexton’s highlights would almost certainly occur far less frequently than his growing pains. While he hasn’t been perfect, those highlights still exist, and on Saturday night, Sexton might have had the finest game of his young career.

After taking down the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday, Sexton and the Cavs played hosts to James Harden and the Houston Rockets. Sexton didn’t out-duel Harden on the stat sheet — the latter went for 40 points and 13 assists — but he still had a big night en route to a 117-108 victory.

Sexton had a career-high in scoring, dropping 29 points on an efficient 14-for-21 clip from the field. While he only went 1-for-3 from three, Sexton’s jumper was working, as he made eight of the 12 shots he took from outside the lane.

In addition to the best scoring night so far in his young career, Sexton pulled down four rebounds and only turned the ball over three times in 34 minutes. His two assists certainly could have been better, but with Kevin Love on the sideline, the Cavaliers could use someone who can consistently get buckets. Sexton may not be that guy on a nightly basis, but he’s in the midst of a bit of a hot streak, as he has scored more than 20 points in back-to-back games and is averaging 21.2 points per game over his last five outings.

Cleveland is still not particularly good — only the Atlanta Hawks have a worse record than their 4-14 mark on the season — but right now, the important thing is that they’re getting better every time they take the floor. With Love out until some time in 2019 due to toe surgery, the whole “wins and lessons” mindset that former coach Ty Lue tried to install is actually a pretty good approach.

While the Cavs picked up a win on Saturday night, they also learned a pretty good lesson: The team might have drafted a guy they can build around in Collin Sexton.