Donovan Mitchell scored 37 points, Sam Merrill had a career-high 19 off the bench and the Cleveland Cavaliers earned their 11th consecutive overtime victory by beating the Houston Rockets 135-130 on Monday night.
Merrill had five points and Max Strus added four in the extra period, when Cleveland outscored Houston 13-8 to match the second-longest OT winning streak in NBA history. New Orleans owns the record with 13 victories in a row from 2006-08.
“This is what Sam does, this is who he is,” Mitchell said. “I’ve been playing pickup games against him since he was at Utah State and I was with the Jazz. When hard work meets opportunity, it’s a beautiful thing to see.”
Rockets center Alperin Sengun made one free throw with 36.8 seconds left in regulation to tie it. Caris LeVert missed a 3-pointer on the Cavaliers’ subsequent possession and Sengun’s fadeaway at the buzzer rimmed out.