CLEVELAND, Ohio – After hitting a horde of playoff teams over the past month, Sunday night should have been different.
Emphasize supposed to be. Only it was not. Just the famous hopeless performance for the Cleveland Cavaliers, who lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder, 117-101. This is Cleveland’s 10th consecutive loss and 14th in the last 16 games.
Eventually, the Cavs played against a comparable opponent – the rebuilding Thunder, also one of the league’s youngest teams to lose six of their last seven nights. These are the games in which the Cavs must be able to compete. These are the teams that the Cavs need to be able to defeat, which provides a reasonable benchmark.
Cleveland led 20-10 early on Sunday night, like a refreshed group. That quick start quickly faded. Shortly after the initial bursts, the Cavs began mixing up their reserves, the Thunder swept the lead and Cleveland never recovered. At one point in the fourth quarter, Oklahoma City’s lead extended to 20 points.
It’s one thing to get through the championship-fighting Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Clippers or Milwaukee Bucks – the fierce opponents during this relentless stretch. But the thunder?
“I thought it was lost in the fitness department,” Cavs head coach JB Bickerstaff said. “We just have to be better. We have to make open shots to be able to survive. We need to be better vigilant and more physical. We need to be better. ”
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who selected a few spots after Collin Sexton in the 2018 NBA draft, led all scorers by 31 points on 9-of-15 shooting, 3-of-3 from 3-point and 10- of -12 from dirty line. This action will not help silence the chorus of fans who believe the Cavs should have taken the smooth 6-foot-6 guard instead of Sexton a few years back.
Veteran stabilizer Al Horford beat by 16 points and eight rebounds. Oklahoma City, who were 29th in offense this season, shot 54.4% from the field and 46.4% from outside the arc.
Sexton scored 27 points on 11-of-22 shooting for the Cavs, which allowed four of five starters to reach double figures. Jarrett Allen added the 26 best points of his career, making all 11 of his shot attempts and grabbing 17 plates. Darius Garland had 21 points.
The forerunners of the Cavs were not the most important issue. It was their terribly depleted bank. Oklahoma City’s second unit outscored Cleveland’s reserves 42-9.
Kevin Love, Larry Nance Jr., Taurean Prince and Andre Drummond – Cleveland’s four highest paid players – were all on the sidelines, sitting on the bench in hoodies, watching their teammates crumble without them.
These absences created a domino effect, forcing Bickerstaff to dig deeper. The losses of Nance, Love and Prince meant that Cedi Osman started at the power supply. The Cavs did not get enough production on Friday – and the same thing happened to the Thunder two nights later.
Osman scores six points, Lamar Stevens counts two and Dylan Windler, forced from time to time into that position, makes one basket.
Those precious minutes – and a weakened second unit – played the biggest role in keeping the Cavs from a win they desperately needed.
“Nobody’s coming to save us,” Bickerstaff said. “No one is coming to save us. The rest of the league does not care about our series. They see us as an opportunity to get right now. And we need to find that grain and that fixation where we draw the line in the sand and not just hold the line, but move forward and cross the line. This is the only way to get out of here. ”
3-point inequality
The Cavs committed to shooting more three-pointers. This is a good start. But making it is another matter. They are 8-out-35 from deep down. Osman was 0-out-8, Sexton just 1-out-6. The Thunder, meanwhile, were 13-out-28.
Following
The Cavs will continue with their home field against the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night. Tipoff is 19:00
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