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Wizards routed by the Cavaliers, 108-83 Wizards routed by the Cavaliers, 108-83
(about 1 hour later)
CLEVELAND — If the Washington Wizards were going to scale above .500 on Friday night for the first time in 101 days, they needed to topple a Cleveland Cavaliers team very different than the one they had walloped five days earlier. When the teams met in the District on Sunday, LeBron James didn’t play. He rested and the Cavaliers disintegrated. CLEVELAND — If the Washington Wizards were going to scale above .500 on Friday night for the first time in 101 days, they needed to topple a Cleveland Cavaliers team very different from the one they had walloped five days earlier. When the teams met in the District on Sunday, LeBron James rested, and the Cavaliers disintegrated.
On Friday, the Cavaliers elected to rest Kevin Love, but James was available for the teams’ nationally televised meeting, and his influence was the difference in Cleveland’s convincing 108-83 rematch victory. The four-time MVP, whose off-court activity during the Cavaliers’ three-day break this week drew national attention, posted 19 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists as Washington saw its four-game winning streak end. On Friday, the Cavaliers elected to rest Kevin Love, but James was available for the teams’ nationally televised meeting, and his influence was the difference in Cleveland’s convincing 108-83 victory. The four-time MVP, whose off-court activity during the Cavaliers’ three-day break this week drew national attention, started at power forward in Love’s place and posted 19 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists as Washington saw its four-game winning streak, which tied its longest of the season, end.
The Wizards dropped to 30-31 and a game behind the Detroit Pistons for the final playoff berth in there Eastern Conference. They haven’t been above .500 since holding a 6-5 record on Nov. 24 and are 0-4 in opportunities to rise above the benchmark since then. “They just gave us an old-fashioned whooping,” Wizards point guard John Wall said.
The Cavaliers (43-17) have stood atop the Eastern Conference for nearly the entire season and still do with a two-game edge on the Toronto Raptors, but not everything has been rosy as of late. Cleveland lost two of its previous three games before Friday as ruckus swirled around James. The 12-time all-star took to Twitter this week to send subliminal messages and was criticized for spending two days in Miami working out with Heat guard and former teammate Dwyane Wade. That was all after the Cavaliers had stunningly fired Coach David Blatt and replaced him with Tyronn Lue on Jan. 24 after a 30-11 start under Blatt. Washington dropped to 30-31 and a game behind the Detroit Pistons for the final playoff berth in there Eastern Conference. They haven’t been above .500 since holding a 6-5 record on Nov. 24 and are 0-4 in opportunities to rise above the benchmark since then.
While the Cavaliers have scuffled (by their high standards), the Wizards were surging entering Friday, with their healthiest roster of the season and an improved defense that ranked fourth in defensive rating in the nine games since the all-star break. But that stout defense, which was allowing 97.6 points per 100 possessions over the nine contests, was absent Friday. The Wizards were doomed by a sloppy start. They committed 10 of their 16 turnovers in the first half — five each in the first and second quarters — as Cleveland’s smaller lineup allowed for more switching and stagnated Washington’s offense. The first two giveaways were thanks to James: Six minutes into the contest, James intercepted an errant pass from Bradley Beal and breezed to an electrifying dunk. It took 10 seconds for the sequence to repeat itself: Again, James stole a pass from Beal to spring another high-flying act to give Cleveland a 16-7 lead and ignite the crowd.
With James heading the charge, six Cavaliers scored in double figures, including Kyrie Irving at 21, and Cleveland, which at one point led by 30 points, shot 12 of 27 from three-point range while committing just nine turnovers. Meanwhile, Washington just shot just 39.5 percent from the field, 3 of 20 from three-point range and committed 16 turnovers to 14 assists. “It got everybody into it,” Wizards Coach Randy Wittman said. “It’s one of the things we talked about: You can’t turn the ball over.”
John Wall paced the Wizards with 17 points, eight rebounds and seven assists . He played the final 90 seconds of his 28 minutes after twisting his left ankle driving to the basket for a layup while getting fouled. The all-star point guard remained on the floor writhing in pain for a few moments. The Wizards’ head trainer tended to him under the basket, but Wall got up, walked to the bench and stayed in the game to shoot his free throw. The Wizards were without Gary Neal (leg) and Alan Anderson (rest). Anderson is expected to play Saturday against the Indiana Pacers. The game was a blowout by the end of the third quarter, when the Wizards, who were without Gary Neal (leg) and Alan Anderson (rest), experienced an injury scare. With 2 minutes 51 seconds remaining in the period, Wall jammed his left ankle and foot driving to the basketball for a layup while getting fouled by Matthew Dellavedova. The all-star point guard remained on the floor writhing in pain for a few moments. The Wizards’ head trainer tended to him under the basket, but Wall got up, walked to the bench and stayed in the game to shoot his free throw.
James’s presence was evident, influential and immediate on both ends of the floor. Six minutes into the contest, James intercepted an errant pass from Bradley Beal and breezed to an electrifying dunk. It took 10 seconds for the sequence to repeat itself: Again James stole a pass from Beal to spring another high-flying act to give Cleveland a 16-7 lead. Wall played another 90 seconds before exiting with a team-high 17 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in 28 minutes . He said he didn’t return because the result was sealed and he will play Saturday against the Pacers.
The Wizards were dealt a blow a couple minutes later when Wall was assessed his second foul reaching for a steal. He was quickly replaced by Ramon Sessions to avoid further foul trouble and didn’t reappear until 9 minutes 25 seconds remained in the second quarter. “Yeah, a little bit,” Wall said when asked whether he was initially concerned about the injury. “It’s the same one I kind of hurt my rookie year, jamming it like that. . . . I’ll do treatment on the plane and make sure I’m all right.”
Washingon didn’t fold without its floor general, however, instead trimming Cleveland’s lead, as large as nine points in the first quarter, to four by the end of the period behind eight points from Beal. The deficit was six when Wall returned, but stretched to 15 later in the quarter after a 10-2 Cavaliers spurt that included five points from James and a vicious alley-oop dunk from Timofey Mozgov, who tallied six dunks en route to 14 points. The Cavaliers (43-17) have stood atop the Eastern Conference for nearly the entire season and still do with a two-game edge on the Toronto Raptors, but not all has been rosy as of late. They lost two of their previous three games before Friday as ruckus swirled around James. The 12-time all-star took to Twitter this week to send subliminal messages and was criticized for spending two days in Miami to work out with Heat guard and former teammate Dwyane Wade. That was all in the wake of Cleveland shockingly firing Coach David Blatt and replacing him with Tyronn Lue on Jan. 24 after starting the season 30-11.
The Cavaliers widened the gap to 18 points on a three-pointer from Matthew Dellavedova, who recorded 10 points off the bench in the first half, and held a 59-42 lead at halftime. While the Cavaliers have scuffled (by their high standards), the Wizards were surging, entering Friday with their healthiest roster of the season and an improved defense that ranked fourth in defensive rating in the nine games since the all-star break. But that stout defense, which was allowing 97.6 points per 100 possessions over those first nine contests, was absent Friday.
With James at power forward instead of his usual three-spot and Iman Shumpert starting at small forward, the Cavaliers ran pick-and-rolls with James, which launched the chiseled 6-foot-8 mass toward the basket unscathed. If a Wizards defender didn’t leave his man to impede James, it was an easy bucket. If one did, it was an easy bucket for someone else. The Wizards couldn’t solve him.
“LeBron got the ball going downhill,” Wall said. “If you don’t step up, he’s going to finish it.”
Timofey Mozgov was often the beneficiary of James’s impact and finished with six dunks en route to 14 points. Kyrie Irving headed Cleveland’s six double-figure scorers with 21 points. Cleveland, which at one point led by 30 points, shot 12 of 27 from three-point range while committing just nine turnovers. Meanwhile, Washington just shot just 39.5 percent from the field, 3 of 20 from three-point range and committed 16 turnovers to 14 assists .
“Overall, bad game effort-wise for us,” Wizards forward Jared Dudley said. “Just from top to bottom. Players, coaches, everyone included. It was bad overall tonight.”