How young, ‘fearless’ Cavs stole the show from Lakers’ LeBron James, Luka Doncic

LeBron James, Luka Doncic and Donovan Mitchell might have been the names on the marqueebut jaylon tyson and nae’quan tomlin stole the show, like Cleveland Cavaliers escaped Wednesday with a 129-99 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers at Rocket Arena. And while the young Cavs have been the talk of the season in Cleveland so far, they’ve made a statement to national television audiences around the world again that they are here to stay.

“Everybody knows who that is, right? The greatest ever,” Tyson said after LeBron’s game. “But I look at it as another opportunity. Obviously, when I’m given that match, it’s like, ‘Okay.’ I’m not afraid of anyone. I just go out there and just be myself, and try to make it as difficult as possible for him.”

Although LeBron scored six points on 3-of-4 shooting, he was turned over three times in 3:25 guarded by Tyson. In nearly two minutes against Nae’Quan Tomlin, he missed two 3-pointers and was held scoreless.

That wasn’t the only star that Cleveland’s two-way forward smothered.

Ending the third quarter in which the Cavs outscored the Lakers 42-22, Tomlin met Doncic with his physicality at half court. Initially deflecting the ball with tremendous ball pressure, he deflected again to give himself a clear runway for a two-handed strike. Adrenaline was pumping as he bent and celebrated deep into the low-ball crowd.

“I didn’t realize how far I ran, but the ball was like in front of me,” Tomlin said after the game with a smile. “Low key, I tried to, like, keep going because I was tired. I don’t want them to take it out and run back. So I had to push it a little bit.”

🤯 NAE’KWAN. TOMLIN. #LetEmKnow pic.twitter.com/4uAmnT6Kgg

— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) January 29, 2026

That game fired up the crowd and essentially put the game to bed. Doncic scored one field goal and converted it with 1:30 left by Tomlin.

“I was kind of hesitant because he’s so young and green, and you put him on those guys and they’re so smart,” Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson said. “But now I think we’re all confident he can guard without fouling. Remember Summer League? He had like nine fouls in three minutes (laughs). It’s tough; sometimes it takes a long time (to grow). So the fact that he’s learned to be so active and so disruptive without fouling out, it makes me more comfortable putting him in those big games, even I was big players. like, ‘No, we’re not doing that.'”

“I feel like it’s all the work I’ve put in, especially showing him I can guard the best players, make them struggle in certain aspects,” Tomlin added of his defensive development. “I’m just trying to be a star in my role. I feel like my role is a guy with energy, somebody who’s going to go out there, play defense, play hard, make winning plays. So I feel like I’ve tried to be a star in that.”

The bright lights bring out the best in the young Cavs

Prompted by Cleveland.com’s Ethan Sands, Mitchell felt the term “fearlessness” was appropriate for each player’s approach.

“Every time the moment was big, every time you could count on them,” Mitchell said. “That’s not something that normally happens with the young guys in this league, and that’s why they’re so happy to be there and play with them. In big games, whatever happens — a great offensive night, a bad one — the energy and effort and intensity will be there, and that will take you a long way.”

“I’m not shocked anymore. It’s become an expectation. And now they’re kind of screwed because if it’s anything less, I’m on them. It’s one of those things where you like to see it, you like to play with guys like that. You want to go to war with guys like that, and I think that’s something that they really work on, but also a testament to their character.”

Tomlin they shouted To Tyson, Craig Porter Jr., Tyrese Proctor and myself for the job they put in all season long playing defense and driving the team with energy. He is grateful for the “blessing” of playing every day.

“I can’t take it for granted, and I’m just going to continue to do what got me on the court, I got those minutes,” Tomlin said. “We’re blessed to have a coach like Kenny. He lets us go out there whether we make mistakes or not. He’s not one of those coaches who just pulls us along. We learn from our mistakes and he just has a lot of confidence in us to go out there and make the right play.”

“It gives you confidence. You’re not scared. You’re not afraid to make a mistake because you think you’re going to be pulled. You can play a little bit more freely.”

Tomlin played a record 29 minutes with Mitchell and Tyson. In Cleveland’s last game against Orlando, he played the most of any bench player with 24 minutes. Atkinson stated earlier this season that he The Cavs may have found a real gem in Tomlinand his rotation patterns suggest that even more is expected of the fiery dynamo he called a “racehorse.”

“This guy is 6-10, I don’t know what his wingspan is. He’s everywhere,” Atkinson said. “(If) he starts making threes, we’re going to have a hell of a player on our hands.”

A sophomore in the NBA, Tyson stuffed the stat sheet, posting 20 points, six rebounds, six assists and a steal in the de facto point guard role against a formidable Lakers squad. He turned the ball over just once and was second only to Mitchell in the game with a plus-29.

“I’m thrilled,” Atkinson said. “It really comes down to the front office to identify a player, and now he’s put in a situation where he has to create some things, and you don’t really know until you have him in your hands and see him. But at Cal, he was that player.”

“(Cavs president) Kobe (Altman) and (general manager) Mike (Gancey) and those guys were telling me this guy could create, but he was down the pecking order. But now he’s stepped up. It’s great. It bodes really well for our future if we can get a 6-7, 6-8 wing player, kind of a secondary playmaker.”

Why is Jaylon Tyson so bullish

Better looking Tyson or better Allen? pic.twitter.com/3UkI2uvr9Z

— RealCavsFans.com (@realcavsfans) January 29, 2026

Describing how he was raised, Tyson explained his mentality and why he plays with his heart on his sleeve.

“All my brothers played football. If you watch anybody in my family play, they’re fearless,” Tyson said. “I’ve never been a player who’s afraid of the moment. I think that’s what makes me different from a lot of people… I know what it’s like to be at the bottom and I want to be up there with the big dogs and be able to compete with them.”

“I cut my ninth year and they told me I wasn’t athletic enough to make the team. My whole goal is to never let anyone say that about me again. That’s how I approach every day. My love for this game, I can’t explain it. I don’t know where I’d be without it. So I feel like I have to say that’s a moment, that moment I thought I was cut from my team. moment, I’ll never go back to that.

Mitchell continued with Tyson after telling his candid story in the press room: “You know Michael Jordan was cut, too.

“I’m not Michael Jordan,” Tyson replied.