One stud and one dud in Cavs’ 109-108 win over the Kings
By Corey Casey
It wasn’t easy and some of the youth was shown at the end of the game, but the Cleveland Cavaliers were able to hang on to improve to 2-1 at the start of a long road trip. Through 41 games, the Cavs have 23 wins and after Monday’s win over the Sacramento Kings, have already eclipsed last season’s win total.
The Cavaliers are right now on pace for a 46-win season and have the second-easiest remaining schedule the rest of the way, per Tankathon. Winning 50 games isn’t out of the question, but the Cavs would likely have to upgrade the backcourt scoring via trade (to hit that mark).
The Cavaliers were able to lead this last game the majority of the way at Sacramento, and they went on a run at the end of the second quarter and looked like they’d pull away and build a big lead much like the first game in Cleveland. The Kings fought back and were in striking distance going into the fourth, though.
Along with that, the Kings actually took the lead in the fourth and extended it to 5 briefly before the Cavs took control of the game and ultimately ending up hanging on for a 1-point victory.
Both teams got good production from their bench. Kevin Love continues to play at a high level and as long as the Cavs keep winning, he’ll continue to make a strong case for Sixth Man of the Year. Cedi Osman continued his career season adding 15 points, while Rajon Rondo only had 5 points, but he had 6 assists and has filled a big void in Ricky Rubio’s absence. He showed veteran leadership at the end and had the key stop defending De’Aaron Fox in the last possession.
And while it wasn’t in relation to the bench play, Jarrett’s 18 points, 17 rebounds and 2 blocks were significant in this one, too, and it was nice to see him rebound after a tough game at the Golden State Warriors for him and much of the team overall.
With that said, here, we’ll hit on one stud and one dud from Cleveland’s 109-108 win over Sacramento.