Unable to overcome a cold shooting stretch, the Washington Wizards fell to the Cavaliers in Cleveland on Friday night. Final score: Cavaliers 114, Wizards 90.
After knocking down 20 of their 42 threes in a lights-out shooting performance on Wednesday, the Cavs came out firing again on Friday evening in Cleveland. All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell pulled up for a three on the first possession of the game and drained it. It was deja vu for Wizards fans. And unfortunately, the Cavs stayed hot. They shot 5-of-10 from deep in the first quarter and 16-of-33 (48.5%) for the game.
Thanks to three triples in the first five minutes from Tyus Jones, the Wizards had a hot-shooting first quarter themselves, knocking down five of their nine shots from beyond the arc. But after that, it was just one of those nights where it felt like there was a lid on the rim. For the next three quarters, the Wizards shot 4-of-21 from 3-point distance, while the Cavs stayed hot.
Midway through the third quarter, the Cavs extended their lead to 20 points and never looked back. The Wizards showed a lot of fight down the stretch, but couldn't make a dent in the big lead the Cavs had established.
Mitchell led the way for Cleveland with 26 points in 26 minutes. For the Wizards, Jones was the leading scorer and facilitator. He scored 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field and 4-of-6 shooting from deep to go along with five assists. Bilal Coulibaly was right behind him with 15 points, seven rebounds, and three blocks.
The Wizards have a quick turnaround as they host the Knicks in D.C. on Saturday night for the second leg of their back-to-back.