Cleveland Cavaliers fall late against the Warriors for third straight loss

Cleveland Cavaliers are now on a three-game skid

The Cleveland Cavaliers failed to close out another tight game on the road, falling to the defending NBA titlists Golden State Warriors, 106-101. That makes three consecutive losses on the road where they had several chances to win.

First was a late collapse against a struggling LA Clippers team, then a lethargic start versus a lesser Sacramento Kings squad. Cleveland was accused by many of looking over their previous opponents ahead of this match with Golden State, and perhaps those have merit.

An all-around effort for the Cavs worked well against the defending champs, keeping in step the entire night, even erecting an 11-point advantage midway through the third period. However, they had little to no answer for Stephen Curry.

With the Warriors down by just three, the reigning Finals MVP hit a tying 3-pointer with a little over a minute left to play, followed by a  layup and another triple to notch 40 points and bury the Cavs for good.

Not even a near triple-double from Donovan Mitchell was enough. The three-time NBA All-Star put up 29 points, along with 10 rebounds and nine assists to lead five Cavalier players who tallied double-figures in another heartbreaking loss.

Young Cavs must learn to execute late in tight games

Garland, who was clearly out of sorts against Sacramento, once again struggled to find the bottom of the net. Still recovering from an eye injury sustained on opening night, he dished out eight assists to go with 15 points but shot only 5-for-19 from the field.

Rising star Even Mobley also put in the work with 20 points and 13 boards, while Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert added a combined 24 in the losing effort.

The defense was much better against the Warriors (as opposed to the previous games, but Curry just proved too much to handle in the clutch. Cleveland also always seemed to be out of gas and struggled to find a bucket late in these past few losses.

Now the road-weary Cleveland Cavaliers will take a long flight back ahead of their first home game in 10 days, where the squad will look to arrest the skid in a faceoff against the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on November 13.