On Tuesday, Cleveland Cavaliers rookie Lamar Stevens made a game-winning dunk off a delivery from star Collin Sexton to put the Atlanta Hawks away.
Following the game, Stevens praised Sexton for his leadership and trust to pass him the ball in crunch time.
“I really think, just above the last play, what Coach said to us from Day 1: We want to be the hardest playing team and want to be the most unselfish team every single night,” Stevens said. “That goes to Collin, being the lead scorer, a guy who a lot of guys look to, he trusted me. I just want to be aggressive for my teammates. It was amazing celebrating because we’ve been working so hard day in and day out to get things right.”
Stevens, 23 has played in 21 games this season. He’s putting up 4.5 points and 2.7 rebounds per contest this season.
The rookie came up big in the Cavs’ 112-111 win over the Hawks. Stevens gathered eight points, four rebounds and two assists in 16 minutes.
Sexton, 22, collected 29 points and five assists in 34 minutes on Tuesday. The University of Alabama product has shown a ton of growth in leadership, production and selflessness this season.
Although Sexton is criticized for his lack of passing, the guard made the right play versus the Hawks to come away with the win.
The third-year pro is putting up a career-high 23.1 points and 4.2 assists per game this season. The Cavs hold an 11-21 record.
