Evan Mobley's offense shows up big for Cavs in tough first round

In a pivotal Game 5 for the Cleveland Cavaliers, former USC Trojan Evan Mobley was at his best. He and the rest of the Cavs may have given up more points than they should have, as the Toronto Raptors had 103 points going into the fourth quarter. Nonetheless, Mobley's scoring propelled the Cavs to a win. Cleveland is up 3-2 on the Raptors in a neck-and-neck series.

Evan Mobley had 23 points, shot 8-13 from the field, had 9 rebounds, and had 3 blocks on the defensive end. Evan Mobley was a perfect 3-3 from beyond the arc, and he hit two clutch, pivotal 3s in the fourth quarter. One of his 3 pointers he made put the Cavs up 3 and put the score 106-103. Not to mention his last 3 further extended the score to 113-108.

Mobley really has been at a different level at home for the Cavs, and in this game, he kept the streak going. He and Jarrett Allen need to have that same intensity on defense, as this game was way closer than it should have been due to many lapses and a brutal end to the first half.

As I continue to reiterate, the Cavs need a dominant Evan Mobley to have any shot at a deep playoff run. James Harden stepped up as well with 23 points, and Dennis Schröder very well has an argument for MVP of the game, but getting 23 from Mobley, along with his clutch shots and his rebounds, made a huge difference in this ball game.

This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: Evan Mobley propels Cavs within one win of first-round series victory