For one magical half against Phoenix, the Cavaliers displayed the kind of sparkling play, the kind of dazzling passing, shooting and defense that was supposed to be their signature this season. They were, at long last, playing team basketball at a high level.
And then came the third quarter.
It was the 12-minute period in which the Cavaliers seemingly forgot how to play basketball, at all.
They didn’t defend. They couldn’t score.
And when it was over, when the bleeding had finally stopped, the Phoenix Suns had rallied from a 20-point deficit to demolish team morale and the Cavaliers 99-90 Sunday night at The Q. It was the Cavaliers’ third loss in their last four home games, dropping them to 16-28.
It was the kind of disheartening loss that drew boos from what was left of the home crowd of 15,872 when the third quarter ended with the Cavaliers mustering just six points on two field goals. The Suns equaled a franchise record in holding an opponent to those totals in a single quarter.
In all, by the time the Suns’ scoring spree was slowed midway through the fourth quarter, they had outscored the Cavaliers 38-9 in a span of 15:22.
“It was hard to watch,” Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said. “Very disappointing. Our guys should be embarrassed of the way we played in the second half.”
It started when Cleveland allowed five consecutive Suns 3-pointers in the first 6:20 of the third quarter. Channing Frye, the 6-11 power forward, hit the first three, and Phoenix had cut the Cavaliers’ lead to 65-61 by the time Gerald Green hit one with 5:40 remaining in the period.
In all, it was statistical performance that was remarkable in its starkness: 9.1 percent shooting, six turnovers, and allowing the Suns to shoot 41.7 percent from 3-point range.
“This hurts. This really hurts,” Luol Deng said. “I never want to say sometimes it’s good for you. I don’t want to go there. But at some point, I think, as a team, we’ve got to realize that we can’t allow that to happen.”
Added Kyrie Irving: “They came out and hit us in the mouth and we didn’t fight back.”
Adding to the misery, center Anderson Varejao fell to the ground in pain with 4:25 left, holding onto his left knee. After a visit from the Cavaliers trainer during a timeout, however, Varejao remained in the game.
Brown said he was “worried” because Varejao’s knee has been “bothering him,” and that Varejao will be revaluated Monday.
Varejao shrugged off the injury afterward. “I’ll be fine,” he said. “I’m trying to stay positive.”
The implosion came after what might have been the Cavaliers’ best performance in two quarters this season. They built a 61-43 halftime lead, and Irving had seven assists in the first quarter, alone.
It all evaporated in a third quarter in which they were outscored 25-6, however.
Markieff Morris led the Suns with 27 points and 15 rebounds. Goran Dragic had 15 points, seven assists and five rebounds.
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