CLEVELAND (AP) — Reaching 60 wins is far from the ultimate goal for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
However, that doesn't mean they aren't going to savor reaching the milestone.
Cleveland's 127-122 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday afternoon gave the Cavaliers at least 60 wins for only the third time in franchise history.
“Celebrate the small victories, and we will,” said Donovan Mitchell, who had 24 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists. “It's been a great year. All of our sacrifices and hard work is paying off. It is big for the organization and the city.”
First-year coach Kenny Atkinson said he didn't expect 60 wins at the start of the season, which is why he wanted his group to savor this.
"My internal goal was how we could improve from last year, even if it was for one or two wins. For this team to take it to another level and shatter that says a lot,” said Atkinson, who became the 13th coach in NBA history with 60 wins in his first season with a new team. “We still can add to that. We have to celebrate this. It’s not the end goal but take a deep breath and celebrate.”
The last time Cleveland reached 60 wins was 2009-10, when it went 61-21. The franchise-high mark is 66-16 from 2008-09. Those were the final two seasons in LeBron James' first stint with the Cavaliers.
Without being asked, center Jarrett Allen recognized how meaningful it was to do something again for the first time without James. The Akron native remains an icon in Northeast Ohio after he led the Cavaliers to the region's first professional sports title in 52 years in 2016.
“Whether we like it or not, LeBron is the face of this city and has done so much. It is tough to break away from that notion or the records, the first to do it with LeBron here,” he said. “We’re trying to do something special and hopefully we can.”
The Cavaliers have faced their share of adversity since they had a 16-game winning streak snapped by Orlando on March 16. The loss to the Magic started a season-high, four-game slide, but Cleveland has won four of its last five.
Atkinson said before the game that the focus was on his own team, instead of figuring out ways to contain LA's James Harden, Norman Powell or Ivica Zubac.
Atkinson was not pleased with his team's play in a 133-122 loss to Detroit on Friday night. He also wanted to see a better response level after the Clippers won the first meeting by 13 points on March 18.
“We were struggling a little,” he said. “Thinking about the Detroit game we had some not great performances. Thinking about our Clippers game in LA, they took it to us. We needed to for psychological reasons to get it in a good manner.”
The Cavaliers began separating themselves from James' shadow last season when they beat the Magic in seven games in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. It marked the first time since 1993 they won a series without James.
“Everything since I have been here has been a stepping stone. Something has improved every year,” said Allen, who had his team-leading 39th double-double of the season with 25 points and 12 rebounds.
Cleveland is 4 1/2 games ahead of Boston for the top seed in the Eastern Conference with seven games remaining. With a couple days to rest up before hosting the New York Knicks on Wednesday, Atkinson is stressing other things supersede getting that top spot.
“If I had priorities I would rather be playing well and having everyone healthy. Hopefully the first seed will come with that and I think it will," he said. "We have to keep the philosophy and mentality that we're growing.”
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Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen dunks in the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Los Angeles Clippers, Sunday, March 30, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David Dermer)
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell goes to the basket against Los Angeles Clippers guard Ben Simmons in the second half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, March 30, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David Dermer)
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell reacts while walking to the bench in the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Los Angeles Clippers, Sunday, March 30, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David Dermer)
NEW YORK (AP) — New York City Mayor Eric Adams says a family of Spanish tourists, including three children, died Thursday in a helicopter crash in the Hudson River that killed six people.
Adams said all of the dead have been recovered and removed from the water.
The helicopter broke apart in midair and crashed upside-down into the river between Manhattan and the New Jersey waterfront. It was the latest high-profile aviation disaster in the U.S., following other recent accidents in Washington and Philadelphia.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
NEW YORK (AP) — A helicopter broke apart in midair and crashed upside-down into the Hudson River between Manhattan and the New Jersey waterfront Thursday, killing six people in the latest high-profile aviation disaster in the U.S., according to witnesses and a law enforcement official.
The New York Fire Department said it received a report of the crash at 3:17 p.m. All six people aboard were killed, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press. The official was not authorized to speak publicly and did so on condition of anonymity.
Witness Bruce Wall said he saw the helicopter “falling apart” in midair, with the tail and propeller coming off. The propeller was still spinning without the aircraft as it fell, he said.
Lesly Camacho, a hostess at a restaurant along the river in Hoboken, New Jersey, said she saw the helicopter spinning uncontrollably before it slammed into the water.
“There was a bunch of smoke coming out. It was spinning pretty fast, and it landed in the water really hard,” she said in a phone interview.
Video posted to social media showed parts of the chopper splashing into the water, and the overturned aircraft was submerged, with rescue boats circling it.
The skies were overcast at the time, but visibility over the river was not substantially impaired. Rescue crews had to deal with 45-degree water temperatures.
The Federal Aviation Administration identified the helicopter as a Bell 206, a model widely used in commercial and government aviation, including by sightseeing companies, TV news stations and police departments. It was initially developed for the U.S. Army before being adapted for other uses. Thousands have been manufactured over the years.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it would investigate.
The rescue craft were near the end of a long maintenance pier for a ventilation tower serving the Holland Tunnel on the New Jersey side of the river. Fire trucks and other emergency vehicles were on nearby streets with their lights flashing.
The skies over Manhattan are routinely filled with planes and helicopters, both private recreational aircraft and commercial and tourist flights. Manhattan has several helipads that whisk business executives and others to destinations throughout the metropolitan area.
Over the years, there have been multiple crashes, including a collision between a plane and a tourist helicopter over the Hudson River in 2009 that killed nine people and the 2018 crash of a charter helicopter offering “open door” flights that went down into the East River, killing five people.
A medical transport plane killed seven people when it plummeted into a Philadelphia neighborhood in January. That happened two days after an American Airlines jet and an Army helicopter collided in midair in Washington — the deadliest U.S. air disaster in a generation.
The crashes and other close calls have left some people worried about the safety of flying.
First responders from New Jersey and New York respond to the scene where a helicopter crashed in the Hudson River, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Jersey City, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
In this photo taken from video, a helicopter falls from the sky into the Hudson River , Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Jersey City, N.J. (Bruce Wall via AP)
A crane vessel arrives at the scene where a helicopter crashed into the Hudson River, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Jersey City, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
As seen from Pier 40 in New York, police and fire crews from New York and New Jersey respond to the scene where a helicopter crashed into the Hudson River, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Jersey City, N.J. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
As seen from Pier 40 in New York, police and fire crews from New York and New Jersey respond to the scene Thursday, April 10, 2025, where a helicopter went down in the Hudson River between Manhattan and the New Jersey waterfront. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
As seen from Pier 40 in New York, police and fire crews from New York and New Jersey respond to the scene Thursday, April 10, 2025, where a helicopter went down in the Hudson River between Manhattan and the New Jersey waterfront. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
First responders from New Jersey and New York respond to the scene where a helicopter crashed in the Hudson River, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Jersey City, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
As seen from Pier 40 in New York, police and fire crews from New York and New Jersey respond to the scene Thursday, April 10, 2025, where a helicopter went down in the Hudson River between Manhattan and the New Jersey waterfront. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
First responders walk along Pier 40, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in New York, across from where a helicopter went down in the Hudson River in Jersey City, N.J. (AP Photo/Jennifer Peltz)
A New York Fire Department Marine 1 boat departs from Pier 40, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in New York, across from where a helicopter went down in the Hudson River in Jersey City, N.J. (AP Photo/Jennifer Peltz)
First responders walk along Pier 40, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in New York, across from where a helicopter went down in the Hudson River in Jersey City, N.J. (AP Photo/Jennifer Peltz)
