Cavaliers Lose 110-103 to Wizards Despite LeBron James' 32 Points
The Washington Wizards earned a 110-103 road win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday night at Quicken Loans Arena.
LeBron James finished with 32 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in a losing effort, and this is the Cavs' first defeat since the quartet of Jordan Clarkson, George Hill, Larry Nance Jr. and Rodney Hood debuted after landing in Cleveland ahead of the NBA trade deadline.
Bradley Beal finished as Washington's leading scorer (18 points), while Kelly Oubre Jr. came off the bench to score 17 points.
Cleveland cut the deficit to three points with 1:13 remaining before Beal found Otto Porter Jr. on an excellent inbounds play to make it a 106-101 game. NBA on TNT shared a replay of the pivotal bucket:
James did what he could to engineer a fourth-quarter comeback, scoring the Cavs' final 12 points. Cleveland went the last 9:42 of the game without somebody other than James scoring. That, combined with the team's porous defense, meant James' late-game offensive surge would be all for naught.
Thursday was a bit of a reality check for the Cavaliers, who looked like a transformed team after general manager Koby Altman reshuffled the roster. Cleveland beat the Boston Celtics by 22 points on Feb. 11 and then defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 120-112 on the road two days later.
After two big wins, it was easy to go overboard with how good the new-look Cavs could be. While Cleveland is better now than it was to start the month, the Wizards showed that the Cavaliers still have flaws the additions of Hill, Clarkson, Hood and Nance didn't address.
Washington's 35-point second quarter harkened back to the version of the Cavs that owned the NBA's third-worst defensive rating (109.2) through the month of January, according to NBA.com. The Wizards also shot 47.8 percent from the field as a team and hit 12 of their 30 three-point opportunities.
Cleveland.com's Chris Fedor thought a couple of reasons could explain Cleveland's poor defense:
The Cavs didn't help themselves on the offensive end, either, with the trio of Hill, Clarkson and Jeff Green going 0-for-10 from beyond the arc.
Yahoo Sports' Dan Devine highlighted one Cleveland possession with 2:41 left in the game and the Cavs trailing 104-97 that summed up the night:
A team that makes so many midseason changes is bound to go through growing pains, and that was likely the case for the Cavaliers on Thursday. Playing the 18-38 Memphis Grizzlies on the road Friday night should provide Cleveland with an opportunity bounce back before a difficult matchup with the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday.
The Wizards, meanwhile, moved to 8-2 in their last 10 games, which have all been without John Wall. He underwent knee surgery on January 31 and is expected back by the end of the regular season.
Ball movement has been a hallmark for Washington without Wall, and that continued against Cleveland. The Wizards finished with 29 assists—up slightly from their season average (24.3)—and just 10 turnovers.
Tomas Satoransky has acquitted himself well in place of Wall in the starting lineup, and he finished with 17 points, four rebounds and eight assists.
Yahoo Sports' Michael Lee thought the win makes it even more clear Satoransky needs to be a consistent member of the Wizards' rotation:
Washington will be a better team when Wall returns, but his injury could prove to be a blessing in disguise, as Satoransky otherwise wouldn't have had the same opportunity to showcase his skills.
Washington faces off with the Charlotte Hornets on Friday before a rough five-game stretch in which the Wizards play the Philadelphia 76ers, Milwaukee Bucks, Golden State Warriors, Toronto Raptors and Indiana Pacers.
