The struggling Wizards – who came into the game riding a four-game losing streak, dropping three of those by an average of 21.3 per – took advantage of a slow-starting Cavaliers club, racing out to a big second-half lead and holding on to hand Cleveland its first home loss of the 2015-16 season, a 97-85 decision on Tuesday night in Cleveland.
LeBron James led four Cavaliers in double-figures with 24 points and 13 boards, going 8-of-20 from the floor and adding four assists, a steal and a blocked shot. Unfortunately, James also accounted for nine of Cleveland’s 19 turnovers.
Matthew Dellavedova came off the bench to follow up with 15 points in the loss – going 5-for-9 from the floor, including a perfect 3-of-3 from long-distance. Delly’s fellow point guard, Mo Williams, added 12 points of his own, hitting on 5-of-10 shots, 2-of-3 from beyond the arc.
But neither player had any luck with Washington’s two-time All-Star, John Wall, who led everyone with a season-high 35 points – going 14-for-24 from the field, including 3-of-5 from deep. The lightning-quick Wall also led everyone with 10 assists – as many as the Cavaliers’ starters combined – and added five steals, one more than Cleveland’s combined starters.
J.R. Smith rounded out the Cavaliers in double-figures, finishing with 13 points despite not shooting the ball well. The struggling Smith, who went 3-for-14 from the field on Tuesday, is now just 6-of-26 over this last two outings.
On the plus side, Tristan Thompson finished with 11 boards on Tuesday night – his seventh straight game with double-digit rebounds.
Despite grabbing eight more boards than the Wizards, the Wine and Gold were mauled in the paint – 44-22. Cleveland handed out only 15 assists, a season-low at The Q, and committed 19 turnovers that led to 25points. The Cavaliers never led during Tuesday night’s contest.
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