The Cleveland Cavaliers lost to the Golden State Warriors by a score of 131-112 , their third straight loss and 10th in the past 11 games.
This was a matchup of two of the worst teams in the league. Golden State came in with the worst record in basketball and Cleveland with the third-worst. The difference between the two teams is that the Warriors are bad without their two-best players in Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, while the Cavaliers are bad with their best players.
Things were relatively close through the first half, although a late run by Golden State put momentum clearly in their corner. That momentum carried over into the second half and combined with Cleveland’s terrible 3rd quarter performances, it was a recipe for disaster. Golden State outscored Cleveland 44-19 in the 3rd, essentially putting the game away right then and there. While the Cavaliers did have a better 4th quarter, it was still too much to come back from. Cleveland ended up on the wrong side of a blowout, losing 131-112 to Golden State.
Collin Sexton started out hot
Collin Sexton made 5 of his first 7 shots, including both three-point attempts. While this start was encouraging, it did not continue. Sexton would go 4-9 overall and 1-3 from deep over the remainder of the game. While he did finish with a team-high 23 points, his fast start did not lead to a win.
Kevin Porter Jr. led the Cavs bench
This has become a nightly occurrence, Kevin Porter Jr. leading the Cavaliers bench unit. Porter scored 19 points in 24 minutes on 5-12 shooting (3-9 3PT) and making all six free throw attempts. It is very possible that Porter sees his role increase as long as he continues to show that he can score. Possible trades and a change in rotations may lead to Kevin Porter Jr. having a much larger role.
Kevin Love did not have the best performance
Yes, Kevin Love had a double-double (14 points, 11 rebounds), but it came on 5-13 shooting night. Not necessarily his best shooting performance. While Love did go 3-4 from two-point range, he did miss seven three-point attempts. Kevin Love has shown he is capable of making a higher percentage of shots this season, but there is always a clunker mixed in. This may have been Love’s poor performance mixed in among other better shooting nights in the future.
Larry Nance Jr.keeps on stepping up for Cavs
Larry Nance Jr. made half of his shots Saturday (5-10 FG, 2-4 3PT) leading to 12 points. This is the seventh consecutive game that Nance has scored double-digits in. While Nance did not have or come close to another double-double, he did manage 5 rebounds and 2 assists on the night. John Beilien clearly trusts Nance when it comes to how many minutes per game he is playing and his fit with some of the younger players on the roster.
