The shorthanded Cleveland Cavaliers put together a valiant effort, but it was not quite enough as they lost to the Phoenix Suns 134-118.
Credit where credit is due, the Cleveland Cavaliers put together a better effort against the Phoenix Suns than anyone could have imagined. The Cavs were able to take the Suns to overtime before laying an egg in the extra period and losing by 16 points.
Things were all tied up at 114 as regulation and both teams headed to OT. Unfortunately the Cavaliers were outscored 20-4, a differential that probably should have been occurring throughout the game. Even without Darius Garland, Larry Nance Jr., Isaiah Hartenstein, Matthew Dellavedova, and Taurean Prince, the Cavs took the team with the best record in the NBA to overtime. This is fairly impressive considering the difference in talent level between the two teams, even though overtime was a blowout.
Career-high for Okoro
It was an impressive night for Cavaliers rookie Isaac Okoro. Okoro scored a career-high 32 points on a 10-16 shooting performance, including 3 of 4 attempts from three. Additionally, Okoro made all nine free throw attempts. For someone who came into the league as a work in progress offensively, this is a step in the right direction and perhaps a glimpse at his scoring potential.
Sexton adds 29
Collin Sexton was the Cavaliers second-highest scorer with 29 points in 39 minutes. As per usual with his high scoring outputs, Sexton required a lot of shots to do so. Sexton made 11 of 24 field goal attempts (2-5 3PT) and went 5-7 from the free throw line. Shooting nights like this is just what comes with Sexton being the only healthy scoring guard. If Garland was able to play things may have been different.
