FINAL - WAS 96, CLE 83 ... The Cavs and Wizards went toe-to-toe through three quarters, but Washington had a little more in the tank down the stretch, pulling away to hand Cleveland the 96-83 loss on Sunday night at The Q. Spencer Hawes doubled-up in his Quicken Loans Arena debut with 16 points and 12 boards. Tristan Thompson also notched a double-double with 11 points and 12 boards in the loss.
5:41, 4Q - WAS 89, CLE 78 ... Wizards have the fresher legs in 4Q, starting to get some separation; Hawes, double-double - 14 reb, 10 reb; Kyrie, Deng, 15 pts apiece; Wizards have hit five more three-pointers, but Cavs have made 24 trips to the line to Washington's 10.
End 3Q - WAS 78, CLE 72 ... After a back-and-forth first half, sluggish 3Q -- Cavs cut it to 1, but didn't retake the lead; Hawes, 14 pts, 8 reb, 3 asst; Kyrie, Deng, 13 pts apiece; Kyrie, 5 asst; Tristsan, 10 pts; Wizards, only 4 turnovers, 22 assists to CLE's 13.
2:51, 3Q - WAS 71, CLE 67 ... Cavs haven't found rhythm in 3Q, but sticking with WAS; CLE, 46 pct FG, Wizards, 45 pct; Hawkes, 14 pts, 8 reb off bench; Kyrie, 6-11 FG, 13 pts, 5 asst, 4 reb; Tristan, 10 pts, 5 reb; Wall leads everyone, 19 pts, 6 asst. Nene is out with a left knee sprain and will not return.
Game Highlights: First Half
End 1H - WAS 58, CLE 52 ... John Wall loves sticking it to CLE at the end of quarters, hit a trey at buzzer to put WAS up half-dozen; story for Cavs in 1H has been Hawes -- 13 pts off bench, 4-6 FG, 1-2 3pt FG, 4-4 FT, 7 reb, 2 asst; Kyrie 8 pts, 4 asst; Zeller, 6 pts, 4 reb; Wall leads everyone w/16 pts.
Game Highlight: Zeller Fastbreak Slam
4:49 2Q - CLE 45, WAS 42 ... Hawes has been a real factor so far -- 3-4 FG, 4-4 FT, 10 pts, 5 reb, 2 asst, he's changed the game; Gee, as he was in last game vs. WAS, active off the bench on both ends.
End 1Q - WAS 30, CLE 27 ... Cavs shoot an even 50 pct FG in 1Q; Zeller, 6 pts, 4 reb; Jack, Kyrie, Deng, 4 pts apiece; Kyrie, 3 asst, Jack, 2; Hawes, 4 pts off bench.
1:42, 1Q - WAS 28, CLE 23 ... entertaining first quarter at The Q, both teams shooting well -- CLE 50 pct FG, WAS 55 pct; Zeller, 3-5, 6 pts; Kyrie, 4 pts, 3 asst; Bennett, 1-1 FG, 2 pts, 2 reb.
Pregame - Shorthanded Cavaliers trying to get back to their winning ways, taking on Wizards without Anderson Varejao (back), Dion Waiters (left knee) and CJ Miles (left ankle). This is the fourth and final matchup of the season between these two teams -- although the first time Cleveland will see Washington with Andre Miller. Cavs have won five of the last six against the Wizards dating back to last season.
Cavs are 6-1 over their last seven, including 3-0 at The Q. They've outrebounded their opponent in seven of the last eight. Tyler Zeller, getting the start again tonight, is averaging 14.0 points and 8.3 boards over his last three games. Tristan Thompson has doubled-up in four of his last five games and is averaging 16.4 points and 12.2 boards over his last five games. Spencer Hawes plays his first game as a Cavalier at The Q tonight.
Mike Brown's pregame presser -- below -- talking about tonight's matchup with Washington down a couple key players.
Tonight's starters: G Jack, G Irving, F Deng, F Thompson, C Zeller