Cavaliers coach Byron Scott had a simple message for his players before the season finale against the Charlotte Bobcats on Wednesday night at Time Warner Cable Arena: Finish the job.
The job may not be finished, but the team is — and Scott may be, too.
In a battle of two bad teams with two embattled coaches, the Bobcats were a little less bad, escaping with a 105-98 victory. Kemba Walker had 24 points — and beat Kyrie Irving for the first time — and Josh McRoberts added 20 points as the Bobcats finished 21-61.
The only good news for Cleveland came from Memphis, where the Grizzlies beat the Utah Jazz, 86-70, meaning the Los Angeles Lakers will make the playoffs and the Cavs will be able to swap Miami’s No. 1 pick with the Lakers’ — a jump of at least 14 or 15 spots, depending on whether the Lakers beat the Houston Rockets late Wednesday.
Irving finished with 24 points and 10 assists and Dion Waiters added 16 for the Cavs, who finished the season with a 24-58 record that left Scott with a 64-166 mark in three seasons.
The Cavs clinched the third-worst record in the league heading into the annual draft lottery, meaning their draft pick will be no worst than No. 6, depending how the pingpong balls land.
In this latest loss, the Cavs demonstrated so many of the flaws that doomed them so often this season: the slow start, the bad defense, the problematic third quarter. But the Bobcats being the Bobcats, the Cavs were able to make a game of it.
Click here to read more of this story.
About Marion Online Sports
