Joel Bartilotta, Rotowire

LAS VEGAS — The Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Sacramento Kings, 96-84, in the first round of the Las Vegas Summer League Playoffs at Thomas and Mack Center on Wednesday.

Cleveland played this game without arguably their two best players, Cedi Osman and Ante Zizic, but they were still able to cruise to the second round of the playoffs. The key stretch was a 19-3 run spanning between the third and fourth quarters, as that gave the Cavaliers a game-high 20-point lead with only seven minutes remaining.

The Kings simply couldn’t recover from that and they never got the game within a single-digit margin from there. The shooting disparity was the difference in the game, with Cleveland connecting on 46.5 percent from the field, 34.8 percent from three-point range and 82.6 percent from the free-throw line. They did that while holding Sacramento to 35.0 percent, 25.0 percent and 62.1 percent, respectively. Rim protection was also key for the Cavaliers, as they won the defensive rebounding differential, 31-24, while out-blocking the Kings, 7-3.

The Kings (1-3) were led by Justin Jackson, who tallied 20 points and four boards. Harry Giles accrued seven points, five rebounds and six assists. Wenyen Gabriel totaled 15 points, three rebounds and two steals. Zach Auguste paced the bench with 19 points, nine rebounds and two assists.

The Cavaliers’ (3-1) first-round pick Collin Sexton collected 25 points, four rebounds and seven assists on 9-of-15 shooting. Jamel Artis amassed 14 points, seven rebounds and three assists, while Okaro White finished with 13 points and seven boards. Billy Preston and Scoochie Smith led the bench with 10 points apiece.

On deck for Cleveland is a matchup with the winner of the Brooklyn-Houston game. As for Sacramento, they’ll await to see who they play in their consolation game.