LeBron James said they had to bring it from the gate and that’s exactly what the Cavaliers did in cruising to a 113-87 win over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday evening at The Q.
Cleveland (7-7) has won back-to-back games and improves its home record to 4-4. Washington (9-5) has dropped its second straight in as many nights.
After a disappointing outing in Washington last week, the Cavaliers were determined to seek revenge.
James set the aggressive tone from the jump by going to the charity stripe eight times in the first quarter. There wasn’t much offense being run for the most part. The emphasis was clearly to push the ball on makes or misses, not allowing the Wizards’ defense to get set.
Cleveland’s defense forced Washington into seven turnovers in the opening quarter and ignited a 30-12 start. At one point, the Wizards went four minutes without scoring a single point.
Sustaining that intensity in the second quarter not-surprisingly tailed off a bit. The Wizards found an offensive rhythm, making 12 of 21 shots. But the Cavaliers kept pace on offense, going into the half with a commanding 58-46 lead.
Things got a little testy midway through the third when John Wall and Tristan Thompson had to be separated after chest bumping one another. They were hit with double technicals. Soon after, James intervened when he saw Dion Waiters and Bradley Beal jawing at each other. The two received a warning and play resumed.
On the court no ground was ever gained for the Wizards.
Kevin Love had an efficient outing, producing 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting to go along with five rebounds. Kyrie Irving supplied 18 points and five assists. Dion Waiters added 15 points off the bench.
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