The Cavaliers defeat the Pelicans and celebrate the franchise’s first 9-0 start

NEW ORLEANS – In a nod to Jarrett Allen, the Cleveland Cavaliers celebrated the first 9-0 season start in franchise history by pouring water over coach Kenny Atkinson’s head in the locker room.

There will be much bigger games with higher stakes than the Cavs’ 131-122 win in New Orleans on Wednesday night.

But Atkinson didn’t mind taking a moment to enjoy something no other Cavs team had accomplished in the 55 years since Cleveland joined the NBA in the 1970-71 season.

“You have to,” said Atkinson, who also became the first NBA coach to win his first nine games with a new team. “This season is so long. It’s so hard to win in this league. So when you experience moments like this, you have to celebrate a little.”

Kenny Atkinson has just become the first coach @NBA History of starting 9-0 in his first year with a new team! #LetEmKnow pic.twitter.com/GX7RfnGyQW

– Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) November 7, 2024

After hitting 54.2% of their shots in the Big Easy – including 48.6% (17 of 35) from 3-point range – the Cavs are shooting for an NBA-best 52.6% shooting percentage this season the field.

“We’re playing good basketball,” said All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell, who scored a team-high 29 points Wednesday while five other teammates scored 11 or more. “We did it in so many different ways. We had setbacks, close games and wins after coming back from a deficit.”

“It’s just the habits that really excite me about what we do. My biggest thing is just being consistent. Let’s continually be that team.”

Cleveland next plays at home on Friday night against the Golden State Warriors, who set the NBA record for best start to a season by winning their first 24 games of the 2015-16 season.

Against the Pelicans, the Cavs scored 50 points while four of five starters scored 14 or more. They became the second team in NBA history to start 9-0 and score 110 or more points in every game, joining the 1960-61 Warriors.

“Everyone does their part here too,” said Atkinson. “That’s what good teams do. We are physically in good shape. We’re in good shape mentally.”

“When you win nine times in a row, it’s not just one or two players, it’s the whole team.”

In his four previous seasons as head coach at Brooklyn, Atkinson had just one winning record, 42-40 in the 2018-19 season.

He spent the last four seasons as an assistant – the first with the LA Clippers and the last three with Golden State.

Now he’s off to a pretty promising start to his second stint as head coach, albeit with a team that won a playoff series a season ago and was expected to be back in the Eastern Conference postseason this season becomes.

“The vibe is great, the energy is great, he did a phenomenal job with us and we bought in too,” Mitchell said. “He gave us input but also allowed us to give input ourselves, and I think that’s what’s special.”

Atkinson, on the other hand, seems happy with the synergy he has felt not only between his players, but also between them and himself.

“What I think is this team and the camaraderie that they have and the chemistry that we have and how connected they are,” said Atkinson, who replaced the fired JB Bickerstaff. “I was fortunate to end up with a really good group, a group that has been really successful in the past, and I’m happy for them – and I think they’re happy for me in the locker room.”

“There is a bond between the head coach and a team. You have to celebrate these moments and that’s pretty cool.”

Information from ESPN Research and The Associated Press was used in this report.