Cleveland Cavaliers crumble late against the Sacramento Kings

Cleveland Cavaliers stain nearly pristine home record

The Cleveland Cavaliers suffered an uncharacteristic loss at home after collapsing in the final minutes against the Sacramento Kings to lose, 106-95. This marks only their second loss in front of another jam-packed Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse crowd.

Led by the erratic Caris LeVert, who had 22 points, six rebounds, and six assists, Cleveland was still up by as much as eight with a little under halfway through the final period. However, the Kings were able to complete a surprising 21-2 run that quarter to embarrass the Cavaliers at home.

Darius Garland added 19 points and six assists for the Cavs while fellow All-Star Donovan Mitchell, who scored 43 huge points in the gutsy win over the Los Angeles Lakers only a few days ago, was held out due to a sore right leg. Kevin Love was also inactive because of a sore back.

Sacramento outplayed and led for nearly the entire first half before Cleveland clawed back against a 15-point deficit and made it an interesting ballgame. But after taking an eight-point lead, the Cavs shot blanks and went scoreless for the final five minutes, surrendering their seven-game streak at home.

The Cavs need to find consistency in a long season

With just over a quarter of the season through, the young Cavaliers squad shows an alarming tendency to look over matchups against some teams that might be considered ‘scheduled wins’. While the team often plays exceptionally against contenders, they also find themselves with eggs on their faces against lower ranked opponents.

All due respect to Sacramento and their recent successes, but this loss felt uncharacteristic for the Cavaliers especially after having won 11 of their previous 12 games in front of an unfailing sold-out home crowd.

If the Cavs are serious about building a winning culture and contending for the playoffs, they should take care of business and be consistent every night against all levels of competition. While still in solo third at 16-10, Cleveland has the Brooklyn Nets, the Indiana Pacers, and the Philadelphia 76ers closing in.

The Cleveland Cavaliers will have to treat this as a blip, immediately bounce back and restore order at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse when the Oklahoma City Thunder come into the building in less than 24 hours.