Wrap-Up — 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.
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Moz with the nifty move.
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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.
Turning Point — The Cavaliers actually led through most of the first quarter and, despite posting a lackluster first half, still were within five points in the final minute of the second quarter.
But Cleveland came undone in the third when the Wizards put together a 15-5 run to take a 19-point edge. After Garrett Temple’s easy layup with 6:58 to play that put Washington up, 80-61, Coach Lue had seen enough – replacing four of his five starters at the next dead ball.
The Wine and Gold’s second unit didn’t fare much better as the Wizards proceeded to finish the period shooting 67 percent – improving their lead to 26 heading into the fourth.
By the Numbers – 3 … three-pointers that Kevin Love needs to become the first player in NBA history to average at least 10.0 rebounds per game and have hit 700 or more treys.
Quotable – Kyrie Irving, on Friday night’s loss in Toronto … on being benched along with three other starters in the third, but quickly returning to the game …
“For me, as a competitor, I just wanted to stay out there. I came back in two minutes later. I told him face-to-face that I wanted to go back in and still just play hard and play the right way. It’s definitely a challenge personally, but he’s the head coach and I respect what he did right there, but as one of the leaders of our team, I just wanted to stay in and I came back in.”
Up Next – Following Sunday’s ugly loss in the nation’s capital, the Cavaliers return home to close out the back-to-back, welcoming the Pacers to Cleveland for the final time this season. After that, it’s a rare three-day rest before a weekend back-to-back – closing out the season series with Washington on Friday night before the Celtics roll in for their final appearance at The Q this year. The following Monday, the Wine and Gold take on the Grizzlies in Cleveland before embarking on their last West Coast junket of the season – facing off against the Kings, Lakers, Clippers and Jazz.
