The J.B. Bickerstaff era for the Cleveland Cavaliers starts off with a win. These are words that not many expected to hear. The Cavs won their first game under Bickerstaff with a 113-108 road win over the Washington Wizards.
This win didn’t come easy. Cleveland found themselves down 16 points early on and the feeling of here we go again was quite prevalent. The Cavs were down 15 with 2:29 left to go in the half and then a rally started. Cleveland was able to close the gap thanks to a 14-4 run. This run was powered by 10 points from Cedi Osman and the Cavs closed the gap to just five at the half.
Cleveland and Washington battled it out in the 3rd quarter with the game staying relatively even. The Wizards increased their halftime lead by one point to six. The Cavs saved their best for the 4th quarter.
About midway though the final quarter Cleveland tied the game at 95 on a Tristan Thompson alley oop dunk. The Cavaliers went on a 14-6 run to take their biggest lead of the game with just 3:29 remaining. Cleveland managed to hold on an win by a final score of 113-108.
Two different halves for Collin Sexton
The Cavs 4th quarter push was led by Collin Sexton. Young Bull scored 14 of his 25 points in the 4th, helping Cleveland win their first game under J.B. Bickerstaff. This came after only scoring 8 points in the first half. Sexton finished 8-17 from the field and 2-6 from deep.
Rough night for Kevin Love
The fact the Cavaliers won without Kevin Love being a major contributor is sort of a miracle. Love only had 9 points on 3-8 shooting (2-5 3PT). Chalk this win up as the exception, not the rule for Cleveland wins this season.
Double-doubles for Cleveland’s big men
Talk about throwback basketball. Andre Drummond and Tristan Thompson are old school centers and both had double-doubles on the night. Drummond had 12 points and 12 rebounds while Thompson 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Kevin Porter Jr. ejected
This is a teaching moment for Kevin Porter Jr. After receiving his fifth foul call of the game Porter received two technicals and an ejection after arguing with the referee. J.B. Bickerstaff needs to talk to Porter one-on-one and explain to him why this is unacceptable. Cleveland managed to win without him but this cannot become a regular occurrence for someone that many peg to be the Cavs best young player.
Dante Exum to the rescue
After Kevin Porter Jr.’s ejection came in and was a spark plug for Cleveland. Exum made all four of his field goal attempts, including one three-pointer. Exum’s 10 points helped the Cavs in their comeback effort.
