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.
See AP’s full NBA coverage here
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Meleek Thomas shoots and hits a three-point basket in the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Monday, Oct. 26, 2026, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki.
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Meleek Thomas, right, celebrates a three-point basket next to guard Donovan Mitchell (45) in the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Monday, Oct. 26, 2026, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Angel Reese is plenty accustomed to physical play, yet these WNBA Finals are at a different level even for the do-everything Atlanta Dream star.
Reese managed only eight shots and was held to seven points to go with 15 rebounds and five assists in a 64-55 Game 5 loss to the Golden State Valkyries on Monday night while visibly showing her frustration with a handful of offensive foul calls against her.
Coach Karl Smesko took it further and criticized the officiating, after crediting Golden State's sensational defense all series.
“But I do want to have Angel's back here. The contact they allow on Angel compared to everybody else is just ridiculous, just ridiculous, and we should have gone to the foul line six to eight more times just on that,” he said. “And then to miss double-dribbles and travels, multiple, that always led to points, you can't be at this level and make that many mistakes.
"So there's things that are on us, we're missing shots we should make but at the same time that needs to be a whole lot better than it was. It's time that if you push somebody with two hands as they drive it's got to be a foul. And I'm kind of tired of some of the excuses that I'm hearing.”
The officials have been calling fouls that have gotten the Dream to the foul line. Atlanta is up 130-78 on free throw attempts in the series. The Dream took 14 foul shots on Monday to Golden State's 13.
After one foul call in the second half, Reese held her hands up questioning what she had done wrong. She shook her head after an offensive foul call as well.
“Honestly for me, I’m still trying to figure out how to play through the physicality,” Reese said. “A lot of us are getting fouled and they’re not calling it or we’re talking to the ref after and they’re saying, ‘Oh, we’ll get you next time,’ so it is a little frustrating especially in the moment of it. I’m kind of used to it because this was happening throughout the season so I have to just continue to play through it, but honestly for my teammates when they’re getting slapped to the ground or goggles knocked off it is frustrating and trying to keep them in and keep them confident.”
With two defensive-minded teams, Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase dismissed any chatter about the physicality of this series, saying “I ain't shocked about this.”
“It's the Finals this is it,” she said. “Both teams, they really want to win this.”
Reese was eager and ready to regroup again as the Dream head home to host Game 6 on Thursday at 12:30 p.m. EDT trying to stave off elimination and force a deciding Game 7 back in the Bay Area on Saturday.
“We'll figure it out,” Reese said. “We're going to have to continue to push through the physicality and hopefully those go our way next game.”
See AP’s full WNBA coverage here
Golden State Valkyries guard Veronica Burton (22) and Atlanta Dream forward Angel Reese (5) compete for possession of the ball during the first half of Game 5 of the WNBA basketball finals in San Francisco, Monday, Oct. 26, 2026. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
Golden State Valkyries center Kiah Stokes (41) and forward Gabby Williams (1) and Atlanta Dream forward Angel Reese (5) and forward Naz Hillmon (00) compete for a rebound during the first half of Game 5 of the WNBA basketball finals in San Francisco, Monday, Oct. 26, 2026. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
Golden State Valkyries center Kiah Stokes (41) knocks the ball away from Atlanta Dream forward Angel Reese (5) during the first half of Game 5 of the WNBA basketball finals in San Francisco, Monday, Oct. 26, 2026. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
Atlanta Dream forward Angel Reese (5) and Golden State Valkyries center Kiah Stokes, left, compete for possession of the ball during the first half of Game 5 of the WNBA basketball finals in San Francisco, Monday, Oct. 26, 2026. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
Atlanta Dream forward Angel Reese (5) reacts after being called for a foul during the second half of Game 5 of the WNBA basketball finals against the Golden State Valkyries, Monday, Oct. 26, 2026, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
