Kuzma, Wizards Shoot Down Cavs Win Streak

In the past, stopping Bradley Beal was the key to stopping the Wizards. That was not the case on Wednesday night.

The Cavaliers tipped off a four-game homestand with a solid defensive effort that held Washington’s sharpshooting superstar in check. Instead, it was one of the newest Wizards, Kyle Kuzma, who drilled a three-pointer with 11.4 seconds to play – sinking the Wine & Gold, 97-94, at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

The Cavs led by nine points midway though the fourth quarter, but Washington heated up from long-range – with Kuzma drilling back-to-back triples to get the Wizards within striking distance.

The Cavs – playing without starters Collin Sexton and Lauri Markkanen as well as Kevin Love – maintained their lead and pushed it to four, 93-89, on Darius Garland’s floater with just over 30 seconds to play. But Kuzma canned another bomb to get Washington to within one. Ricky Rubio split a pair of free throws on Cleveland’s next possession, opening the door for Kuzma’s fourth three-pointer of the period – putting the Wizards up for good with his bomb from the left corner.

Neither team shot the ball particularly well from the floor, but Washington drilled all 17 free throws it attempted and held a distinct advantage on second-chance points, 21-11, grabbing 12 big rebounds off the offensive glass in the win.

Rubio led the Cavaliers with 20 points off the bench – going 6-for-15 from the floor and 7-of-8 from the stripe, adding five boards, five assists and a pair of steals.

Evan Mobley followed up with 19 points on 7-of-15 shooting, adding seven boards and a block despite getting into early foul trouble, picking up two personals in the first quarter.

Darius Garland chipped in with 19 points of his own, going 8-of-16 from the floor to go with four helpers and a steal.

Jarrett Allen rounded out the Cavaliers in double-figures, finishing with 13 points and a team-high 10 rebounds – his fifth straight double-double – adding four assists, two steals and a pair of blocked shots.

Miss any of the action? Find all the highlights and photos in the Game Tracker.

Jarrett Allen and Lamar Stevens trade poster dunks on consecutive Cavs possessions in the second quarter against the Wizards.

The turning point of Wednesday’s game came over the second half of a fourth quarter in which Washington outscored the Wine & Gold by nine, 29-20.

And in terms of a turning point, that can be traced to exactly one opponent – Kyle Kuzma – who piled up a dozen points in the fourth quarter alone, going 4-of-5 from beyond the arc to equal the point total of Cleveland’s starting five in the final period.

By the Numbers - 6 … three-pointers that Cedi Osman needs to sink to move past Mo Williams and into 9th place on the Cavaliers all-time list. The 5th-year man from Macedonia – who went 1-of-4 from deep on Wednesday – now has 409 triples for his career.

Cedi has hit at least one three-pointer in all but two games this year for Cleveland and, at .439 currently leads the squad in shooting from beyond the arc.

Darius Garland, on Wednesday’s loss to Washington …

”I think everybody played pretty well. We were pretty good defensively until the last two possessions. The ball was moving a lot. I think we had a pretty good game. It’s just those last two possessions that hurt us.”

Enjoy the best broadcast calls of the night from Cavaliers Radio Network's Tim Alcorn and Rafa Hernandez-Brito from Power 89.1.

After falling to the Wizards on Wednesday night, the homestand rolls on – with Cade Cunningham and the Pistons making their first appearance of the season on Friday night. The following evening, the Cavs host Boston for the first of two straight – facing the Celtics on Saturday night and again on Monday.

Cleveland finally gets back on the road, traveling to Brooklyn for a Wednesday night matchup with the Nets, but they come right back for another four-game homestand – welcoming the Warriors, Nets, Suns and Magic to town before wrapping up the month with a road meeting with the Mavericks in Dallas.