1 stud, 1 dud from Cavs collapse vs Kings Friday night

Winning a game without your best player is always going to be difficult, and that’s the task that the Cleveland Cavaliers faced on Friday night with Donovan Mitchell out with a sore right leg. Also missing were Kevin Love and Dean Wade, scooping an important hole out of their rotation.

Even so, this is a tough defensive squad with a lot of depth, with the intent of slowing down their opponent to hang in the game. The Sacramento Kings came in 3-1 in their last four with one of the league’s best offenses. Playing without De’Aaron Fox, their second-best player, the game seemed winnable at tip-off.

The Cleveland Cavaliers had a win in hand before an absolutely epic collapse to the Sacramento Kings. Who stood out for the Cavs for good and for ill?

The Kings were red-hot from 3-point land, making six straight to start the game. Yet the Cavs hung around, battling back and ultimately taking a 95-87 lead with less than five minutes remaining in the game. The defense was working and the offense was doing just enough to put the game away.

Then suddenly the gears ground to a halt. The Cavs would not score again, giving up a 19-0 run to the Kings to close the game. That 95-87 lead became a 106-95 loss for one of the most unsettling and painful losses of the season. If you take out the first five minutes and the final five minutes, the Cavs win this game 88-70. The Cavs dropped to 16-10 and 11-2 at home, with a sharp turnaround ahead tonight against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Let’s dig a little deeper by highlighting one player who had a good game overall, and two that were a mess and led to the collapse.