The Cavaliers attempted to rally late against the Spurs, but San Antonio was able to hold on to hand Cleveland a 116-110 loss.
The Cavaliers had a chance to accomplish something that has not been common for them this season, winning consecutive games. Cleveland held on to defeat the Boston Celtics Wednesday and were looking to add win consecutive games for the first time since February 23rd through March 1st, a four-game winning streak. However a winning streak was not in the cards as the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Cavaliers in their first of two matchups on the season.
At one point the Spurs held a 22-point lead over the Cavs and at that point things appeared to be heading towards a blowout. It was then that Cleveland put together a rally to show that they wouldn’t just roll over and take the loss. The Cavaliers were able to cut the lead to four, but the problem was there was only 8.9 seconds left in the game, they simply ran out of time. Perhaps if Cleveland would have found that offensive mojo earlier in the game the result may have been different, but alas it is another loss for the Cavs.
SexLand scores big for Cavaliers
Darius Garland had a career-high 29 points along with 8 assists on the night as he was a key figure in the comeback attempt. The other half of SexLand, Collin Sexton, also scored 29 points while grabbing 5 rebounds. Garland made 8 of 16 field goals attempts (2-4 3PT) and all 11 free throws while Sexton went 12-25, including 3 of 6 from deep and 2-3 from the line. The fact that SexLand scoring more than half the teams is impressive, but that may also say a lot about some of the supporting cast.
Allen defining his role
Jarrett Allen was the third Cavaliers starter eclipse double-digit scoring as he finished with 15 points and rebounds. Allen went 6-8 from the field and made 3 of his 4 free throw attempts. The Cavaliers big man appears to have carved out a defined role for this team and that is very important moving forward.
Surprising contribution off the bench
It is not every day that the Cavaliers get a surprising performance off the bench, but that is what happened Friday night as Lamar Stevens scored 15 points in 17 minutes. Stevens was Cleveland’s leading bench scorer and was able to make an impact when needed. The 23-year made 4 of 9 shots and 7 of 8 free throw attempts, a recurring theme for the Cavaliers in this game.
