Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen made sure to highlight forward Isaac Okoro’s perfect shooting night and the 21-year-old forward’s work ethic following a loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday.
“We love it,” Allen said in a Cavs postgame press conference. “We know he works so hard to try to be the best player that he can be. The work is showing on the court. He was perfect tonight. He didn’t have an easy matchup on the defensive end. He didn’t let that deter him from all the hard work he puts in to ensure his offensive game is right.”
Isaac Okoro’s confidence in himself and awareness of his role on the team helped pave the way for the perfect game, said head coach J.B. Bickerstaff.
“It’s the confidence in himself, the work that he puts in, the belief that his teammates have in him,” Bickerstaff said. “We talked about being incremental and not trying to be who you aren’t.
“I thought he did a great job of taking his shots, being aggressive when he needed to be and doing the job on the defensive end as well.”
Isaac Okoro hit every one of the six shots he attempted against the Grizzlies, including two Cavs 3-point shots from both wings and corners. Okoro caught Grizzlies guard Ja Morant in the air as he faked a 3-pointer before diving to the hoop for a contested shot in the paint, using an attempt to draw a charge from Memphis forward Santi Aldama to cut off a block attempt from forward Jaren Jackson Jr.
“It’s super fun to see him just knock some shots down,” guard Darius Garland said. “We always talk about his work ethic. He’s always the first one in the gym and the last one to leave. Of course it was going to show. On a really big stage, it showed tonight…
“He was one of the big reasons of why we were still in the game. Our entire team tipped our hat off to him.”
