The Cleveland Cavaliers were not able to defeat the Brooklyn Nets in the final game of the regular season.
Even if the Cleveland Cavaliers would have been full strength they would have had a tough time being competitive against the Brooklyn Nets. Kevin Love and Darius Garland were the only two players with injuries who did not play who were not previously designated as out for the season. The absence of Love and Garland certainly played a factor as the Nets outscored the Cavs 99-76 though the first three quarters before Cleveland scored 33 compared to Brooklyn’s 24 in a garbage time 4th quarter.
Not helping matters was Collin Sexton getting ejected midway through the 3rd quarter.
While overall the foul flagrant 2 foul call is a bit extreme here, Sexton cannot be this reckless in a game. That is before even mentioning that the player that Sexton fouled was Kevin Durant. It was a no-win situation here for Sexton and he needs to be aware of this. Sexton finished with 16 points and 5 assists in his final game of the season.
There were four other Cavaliers who scored in double-digits in the contest. Dean Wade and Isaac Okoro were tied for a team-high 18 points. Damyean Dotson chipped in 17 off the bench and Brodric Thomas added 14 as well.
Now that the season is over the Cavaliers have a lot of decisions to make. There are obvious players who do not work together. Additionally, the team needs to pick one direction to head towards (rebuild) instead of attempting to contend at this point in time.
