Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson didn’t pull any punches when assessing his team’s performance in Saturday’s 117-100 road loss to the Houston Rockets.
“I rarely say this, but I thought the game was over in the first quarter,” Atkinson told reporters postgame.
The Rockets led 32-24 after the first quarter and took a 60-46 advantage into halftime. The Cavaliers committed eight turnovers in the opening quarter.
The Cavs were also outrebounded 51-42, and the team’s starting five combined to grab just 13 boards. According to Atkinson, Cleveland’s lack of physical fortitude was a massive factor in the disparity.
“Their physicality, we weren’t ready for the fight tonight,” Atkinson added. “I don’t know how else to say it.”
Jaylon Tyson led the Cavaliers with 23 points on 10-of-20 shooting off the bench. Donovan Mitchell recorded 16 points in 30 minutes, the All-Star guard’s second-lowest output of the season.
It’s been a mercurial campaign for the Cavaliers, who’ve failed to gain momentum despite a pair of recent wins over the Charlotte Hornets and New Orleans Pelicans that was followed by a narrow defeat to the New York Knicks.
“(I was) encouraged after the Knicks game, because we were ready for the fight,” Atkinson admitted. “It wasn’t the same team that played the other night against the Knicks.”
The loss in Houston was Cleveland’s second in a row and fifth in its last seven outings. A year removed from finishing with the top record in the East, the Cavs have now fallen to eighth in the conference.