Without the Leonard/George duo, the Clippers streak ends in Cleveland

The Cavaliers learned from that. Ten days ago, they lost at home to the Warriors, who were without Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. Last night, Ohioans kept their grit to largely overcome a Clippers team that was on a five-game winning streak without Kawhi Leonard, Paul George or even Reggie Jackson.

A completely lopsided matchup that the Los Angeles franchise never had, the locals, who shot 60% from long range (20/33), counted 40 points ahead …

WHAT TO REMEMBER

– Almost constant “garbage time”. Locals played basketball calmly from the first quarter, without creating much spark, but on the contrary, they took advantage of their weakness: the Clippers scored only 6 points in the first seven minutes. After twelve minutes (31-15), Darius Garland, Cedi Osman and others, who were comfortably ahead, continued their demonstration to return to the locker room with a 30-point difference (64-34). Jarrett Allen’s 3-pointer gave Cleveland its biggest lead of the game (82-42), before the game turned into a huge exchange of baskets, especially with Cedi Osman and Brandon Boston Jr. leading the way. Thus, the guests scored more points (42) in the fourth quarter than in the previous two.

– Amazing combination of Tyronn Lue. The California coach certainly lacked two of his best elements, but instead of compensating for these deficiencies with the other available exteriors (Norman Powell, Nicolas Batum, Luke Kennard…), he made a lot of demands on his interior. So, Tyronn Lue started the second quarter with a surprising five, where Ivica Zubac joined Moses Brown, as well as Moussa Diabate, Brandon Boston Jr. was the first attack option. Needless to say, this six-minute experiment was fruitless…

TOPS/FLOPS

✅ Cedi Osman. It tied a career high for Turk, who tied a franchise record by converting all seven of his long attempts, including four in the final quarter with the game already in play. Only Kyrie Irving and Mo Williams have done it. His big night coincided with Turkish Heritage Night at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

✅ Darius Garland. A strong five symbol that blocks. He finished with a double-double (16 points and 10 assists) despite his limited playing time and shot volume. He probably spent as much energy on the bench as he did on the floor, motivating the substitutes.

✅ Moussa Diabate. A word about the Frenchman, who ended up with one of the rare positive effects at the expense of his team. He used this one-sided match to set a career record. Despite being in the 3rd position in the aforementioned second quarter and therefore having placement difficulties, it was voluntary.

⛔ Clippers veterans. After seven minutes of the first pass, Nicolas Batum joined the bench to never leave. His replacement, Luke Kennard, didn’t make much of an impact, while expected first option Normal Powell got just 16 minutes. Meanwhile, Ivitsa Zubac also lost his chance. Bottom line: Tyronn Lue opted to give minutes to his youngsters.

NEXT

Cavaliers (31-21) : Taking on the Heat on Tuesday.

Clippers (28-25) : Visit Chicago on Tuesday.