Just about a week ago, the Cleveland Cavaliers had just defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in LA 114-100. It marked the first time since 2011 that a Cavalier squad had beaten a LeBron James-led team. It was the team’s 8th straight win and gave them a quick stint atop the Eastern Conference. Oh boy how time flies.
On Friday night, five days after the epic win in Los Angeles, the Cavs lost their third straight game to a disappointing Golden State Warriors squad so far, 106-101.
Donovan Mitchell led the Wine and Gold in scoring with 29 points on 10-of-20 shooting from the field. Evan Mobley had a solid game, pouring in 20 points and grabbing 13 rebounds in the loss. The Warriors were led by Stephen Curry, who had 40 points, while shooting 6-of-11 from three, and he had 18 points in the fourth quarter.
It was another late-game collapse from J.B. Bickerstaff’s squad, who fell to 8-4 on the season. The loss also dropped the Cavaliers another spot in the standings, slipping to the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference. Even Mitchell’s and Mobley’s performances were sloppy, with each player having three turnovers.
Overall it’s another trip in the road for a young team, that has still only played with Darius Garland in just over half of its games. Before we move on to Sunday’s matchup versus a slumping Minnesota Timberwolves squad, let’s take a look at one stud and one dud for the Cavs from Friday night’s collapse.