The Cleveland Cavaliers ran out of gas on Saturday evening. They very much looked like a team that was playing their eighth game in 14 days while being on the second night of a back-to-back. They couldn’t get the offense going as they fell to the Golden State Warriors 99-94.
Even though the Cavs are in a tough part of their schedule, this was a disappointing loss and one that shouldn’t have happened. Golden State was without its top two scorers, Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler, and its best defensive player in Draymond Green. This game was there for the taking.
Cleveland’s offense let them down.
Despite the poor shooting, the Cavs had a chance to win late. The Warriors pushed their lead to 13 points with just over five minutes left in the fourth. The Cavs clawed their way back with a 14-4 run over the next four and a half minutes.
Darius Garland was fouled with the Cavs down three with 21 seconds left. Unfortunately for Cleveland, he missed one of his two free throws. The Warriors then also split their free throws on the ensuing possession. Donovan Mitchell had a three-point attempt to tie with four seconds left. It was on line, but didn’t go.
Mitchell led the Cavs once again in scoring with 29 points on 11-26 shooting with three assists and two turnovers.
Garland struggled once again. He finished with 17 points, four assists, and three turnovers while going 6-15 from the floor. Garland still looks a step slow compared to how he played last season when fully healthy. This is in conjunction with simply not getting the outside shot to fall, as he went 1-6 from three.
Evan Mobley provided 18 points and 10 rebounds on 8-19 shooting.
The Warriors had a well-balanced scoring night. All 10 of their active players registered at least four points. Pat Spencer led the team with 19 points and seven assists.
The Cavaliers simply haven’t been able to establish any kind of momentum this season. Every time they seem to take a step forward, they immediately take two back. They’re badly in need of some time to reset and hopefully get healthier.
Fortunately for Cleveland, they’ll get a chance to do just that. They have just two games in the next week, with their next coming on Friday when they travel to the nation’s capital to take on the Washington Wizards.