Meleek Thomas sparks Cavaliers’ OT rally win with 16 points in NBA debut

CLEVELAND (AP) — Meleek Thomas was confident that his time was going to come after not seeing the floor in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ first two games.

The rookie guard showed on Monday night that his NBA debut ended up being worth the wait.

Thomas scored 16 points in 19 minutes as the Cavaliers rallied for a 127-125 overtime victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

“It was on my mind I was going to be on my best version. Have a great showing, stand out and make sure people leaving the gym know my name,” said Thomas, the 34th overall pick in June’s NBA Draft.

Thomas averaged 15.6 points and shot 41.6% from 3-point range at Arkansas last season.

It was the second-most points by a Cavs rookie in their debut coming off the bench. Brevin Knight scored 18 against Houston on Oct. 31, 1997, after being the 16th overall pick out of Stanford.

The 20-year old Thomas came into the game for Peyton Watson with 5:53 remaining in the first quarter. He missed his first shot, a 28-foot, 3-pointer from the right wing, before making a running layup with 3:39 left in the opening period.

Thomas ended up playing 10 minutes in the first half and was Cleveland’s leading scorer with 10 points.

“It is very rare to ride the coattails of a rookie riding into the half,” said All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell, who led Cleveland with 25 points. “For him to be the spark in his first game of the year is not normal. He made some mistakes but they were aggressive. He was fearless and trying to impact the game.”

Coach Kenny Atkinson said he didn’t play Thomas against Philadelphia and Brooklyn due to matchup problems, but decided to see what Thomas could do because the Cavaliers needed a third ball handler on the court to take some pressure off Mitchell and James Harden.

Thomas drew some pre-draft comparisons to CJ McCollum, since both were 6-foot-3 guards and McCollum excelled from beyond the arc. He ended up going 6 of 10 from the field, including 4 of 5 on 3-pointers, along with two rebounds and one steal.

“It was an amazing feeling. It was kind of everything I expected. I knew I had to stay ready and my moment will come. You can’t keep a star in the closet,” Thomas said.

Thomas’ confidence was bolstered by spending time with Harden and Mitchell during preseason workouts. Mitchell has liked what he has seen from Thomas early due to his work ethic.

“His attention to detail defensively surprised me,” Mitchell said. “Offensively he makes shots. He’s trying and willing to learn. We definitely got lucky with him but he set a high precedent for himself.”

Cleveland trailed by 15 in the first half before rallying in the third quarter and eventually pulling it out in overtime. Even though Thomas didn’t see the floor for the final 9:35 of the game, Mitchell credited the rookie for the win.

“In this league, you have to do it over and over. Since the day we drafted him we were bullish on him,” Atkinson said.

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