Larry Nance Jr was not sure the clock would ever run out on Tuesday night. The Cavaliers’ forward was not the only one.
Cleveland nearly squandered a 25-point lead in the fourth quarter before holding off Washington’s late comeback for a 116-113 victory.
The Cavaliers seemed to be on their way to an easy victory most of the night.
Jordan Clarkson scored 28 points and Cedi Osman had 26. Cleveland matched a season high with 15 three-pointers and led 105-80 with 6 minutes, 58 seconds remaining.
Then the Cavaliers, who hit seven of 16 free throws in the final period, nearly fell apart as Washington’s reserves almost pulled out a stunner.
The margin was trimmed to nine, but Cleveland still led 115-103 with 42 seconds remaining. Jordan McRae hit two three-pointers and Tony Brown Jr had a layup as the Cavs missed three of four from the line.
McRae’s two foul shots with 18 seconds remaining cut the deficit to three. Osman missed two free throws with 11 seconds left and the Wizards called a timeout to set up a chance to tie the game.
Osman stripped the ball from Brown at the three-point line and Nance dribbled out the clock.
Washington’s starters were on the bench most of the fourth quarter and coach Scott Brooks kept them there for the final possession.
“They earned the right to win the game,” he said of his backups. “These guys earned the right to get us to overtime.”
Ante Zizic had 12 points and 12 rebounds. Nance added 13 points with 11 rebounds.
The Cavaliers, who defeated Chicago on Sunday, won back-to-back games for the second time this season. Cleveland (11-41) had lost 18 of 19 before beating the Bulls.
Bradley Beal scored 31, but Washington lost in Cleveland for the second time this season. The Cavaliers topped the Wizards 116-101 on Dec. 8 last year, a game Cleveland led by 29 points.
The other time the Cavs won consecutive games was on Nov. 23-24, when they stunned Philadelphia and Houston. Cleveland also broke a nine-game home losing streak and won at Quicken Loans Arena for the first time since beating New York on Dec. 12.
Trevor Ariza had 13 points. McRae scored 15 points and Gary Payton II had 11 — all in the final quarter of the game.
McRae was a reserve on Cleveland’s 2015-2016 team that won the NBA championship.
In other games on Tuesday, the Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Detroit Pistons 115-105, the Oklahoma City Thunder outlasted the Orlando Magic 126-117 and the San Antonio Spurs edged the Phoenix Suns 126-124.
The Brooklyn Nets beat the Chicago Bulls 122-117, the New Orleans Pelicans outplayed the Houston Rockets 121-116 and the Philadelphia 76ers crushed the Los Angeles Lakers 121-105.
Additional reporting by staff writer
BOUNCE BACK: Curry scored 46 points in the Warriors’ victory over the Spurs, after ‘everybody stepped up’ following Tuesday’s blowout loss to Oklahoma City Nikola Jokic scoring 50 or more points had never been enough for the Denver Nuggets to win — until now. Jokic on Wednesday night tied the highest-scoring performance in the NBA this season with 55 points, as the Nuggets beat the Los Angeles Clippers 130-116 for their sixth straight victory. The Nuggets were 0-4 in his previous 50-point outbursts. “It’s a good feeling,” the three-time NBA Most Valuable Player said. He equaled Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who had 55 in a double-overtime game at the Indiana Pacers on Oct. 23. Jokic has been on a roll during Denver’s winning streak. He is the
TIGHT GAME: The Detroit Pistons, the NBA’s second-best team, barely outlasted the Washington Wizards, who fell to an NBA-worst 1-10 with their ninth consecutive loss Cade Cunningham’s triple double, Daniss Jenkins’ three-pointer at the buzzer and Javonte Green’s overtime dunk lifted Detroit past Washington 137-135 on Monday, stretching the Pistons’ win streak to seven games. In an unexpected thriller, the NBA’s second-best team barely outlasted a Wizards club that fell to an NBA-worst 1-10 with their ninth consecutive loss. “We knew how big this game was for us,” Jenkins said. “We wasn’t going to let nothing stop us from getting this W.” Cunningham made 14-of-45 shots and 16-of-18 free throws for a career-high 46 points, and added 12 rebounds, 11 assists, five steals and two
The tri-nation Twenty20 international series featuring hosts Pakistan, as well as Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, is to be played entirely in Rawalpindi from Tuesday next week, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said yesterday, after this week’s suicide bombing in the capital, Islamabad. The change came after at least eight Sri Lankan players asked to leave over security fears following Tuesday’s bombing that killed 12 people and wounded 27. Their country’s cricket board issued a stern directive to the team to stay put or face consequences. Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) said the decision to stay was taken after “close consultations” with hosts Pakistan who
LIKE FINE WINE: Thirty-eight-year-old Djokovic won his 101st title of his career in Athens, becoming the oldest tournament winner since Ken Roswell, 44, in 1977 Elena Rybakina on Saturday clinched her biggest title since Wimbledon in 2022, defeating world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 7-6 (7/0) at the WTA Finals in Riyadh. The world No. 6 put on yet another serving masterclass and was at her returning best as she became the first Kazakh and the first player representing an Asian country to lift the WTA Finals singles trophy. Having gone 3-0 in round-robin play, Rybakina earned a record US$5.235 million and would finish the year ranked No. 5 in the world. “It’s been an incredible week, I honestly didn’t expect any result, and to go so far,
RSS