Monday night’s matchup with Indiana probably can’t come fast enough for the Wine and Gold – who will need to wash the taste of Sunday’s blowout in Washington out of their mouths as soon as possible.
The Wizards have been playing well since the All-Star Break and — after playing the entire fourth quarter on Friday night – LeBron James got the afternoon off, but even those factors can’t explain away the Cavaliers’ lethargic effort at the Verizon Center – where the Wine and Gold fell, 113-99 – going 0-for-2 on their weekend junket.
Coming into the game, the Cavaliers had gone 11-3 on the road since December 28, the second-best mark in the league over that stretch. But they had a two-game set to forget as they head home to face the Pacers. In Friday’s loss, they blew a nine-point lead in the final 4:45 of regulation. On Sunday, they closed the game on a 15-0 run and still lost by two touchdowns.
Kyrie Irving – who dropped 32 points on the Wizards in his last visit to D.C. – led Cleveland with 28 points on Sunday afternoon – going 9-of-20 from the floor, including 4-of-8 from long-distance, to go with a team-high six assists.
Kevin Love and Iman Shumpert both followed up with 12 points apiece, but they shot a combined 8-for-23 doing so.
Richard Jefferson, starting in place of LeBron James – who was given the afternoon off, missing his first contest since December 5 – chipped in with 10 points, most of that from the line where he went 7-of-7.
Timofey Mozgov, one of the game’s few bright spots, doubled-up with 10 points and a game-high 10 boards off the bench – going 4-of-6 from the floor and tallying the Cavaliers’ two blocked shots.
The Wizards – who improved to 6-2 (including 4-0 at home) since the All-Star Break – scored 35 points in the first period and 33 more in the third. Midway through that third quarter, Tyronn Lue yanked four of his starters and only Jefferson and Kyrie saw the floor in the fourth.
Washington shot 49 percent from the floor, handed out 28 assists and outscored Cleveland by eight in the paint. The Cavaliers shot just 40 percent, committed 14 turnovers and were outrebounded, 45-39.
Click here to read more of this story.
About Marion Online Sports
