The Cavs overcame a 17-point second half deficit to defeat the Wizards 130-126
The Cleveland Cavaliers turned in one of their worst performances of the season against a now 3-20 Washington Wizards team that was missing three starters. Having nearly one week off and a lively film session on Tuesday didn’t produce the desired results. Donovan Mitchell’s incredible 48-point performance, with 24 of them coming in the fourth, is the only reason why this wasn’t Cleveland’s most embarrassing loss of the season. He did enough to give the Cavs a 130-126 victory.
The Cavs had a good start to the game from a process standpoint. They executed well in the first quarter and had decent energy. It seemed like the time off served them well, but then the next two quarters happened.
Washington won the second quarter 36-27. The Cavs fell into the trap of taking way too many threes in that frame as they went 4-19 from deep.
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Things got worse in the third. Washington opened the half on a 24-6 run. The Cavaliers were simply uninterested in trying on the defensive end, they weren’t showing any effort in transition, and they settled for too many threes. This has been a somewhat common combination to start the season. But it was jarring to see it reach this depth as a team as bad as Washington capitalize on it so thoroughly.
The Wizards took a 15-point lead into the fourth quarter. The Cavs fought back to make it a one-point game as they opened on a 21-10 run in the first four minutes of the quarter. It seemed like the Cavs were going to use that momentum to coast to the finish line, but Washington didn’t go away.
It was a tie game with just over a minute left. Mitchell, as he did all night, finished a layup to give Cleveland its first lead of the fourth with a minute left. Critical free throws from Lonzo Ball and Evan Mobley, and another basket from Mitchell, were enough to put the Wizards away. Cleveland outscored Washington 11-4 in the final two minutes.
Mitchell did everything he could to keep his team from dropping this game. He finished the game with 48 points on 17-31 shooting with four assists and four rebounds.
Evan Mobley provided 23 points, 13 rebounds, and six assists in the win.
Craig Porter Jr. supplied some much-needed energy at the start of the fourth quarter to turn the game around. He added four points, five rebounds, four assists, and two steals in just under 11 minutes of play.
Darius Garland continues to struggle. He finished the night with 18 points on 6-17 shooting, which included going 0-11 from beyond the arc.
The Cavaliers once again couldn’t get the three-ball to fall as they went 15-53 (28.3%) from beyond the arc.
The Wizards were led by 27 points apiece from CJ McCollum and Bub Carrington.
This wasn’t a step forward from a process standpoint, but at least the Cavs got a win. They have a lot they still need to work on. It’s one thing to need a high-scoring game from Mitchell to defeat a good team. It’s another thing when you need it to defeat a bad and injured team like the Wizards.
The Cavaliers will be back in action on Sunday as they host the Charlotte Hornets. The game tips off at 3:30 PM.
Category: General Sports
