For 48 minutes on Tuesday night, the Cleveland Cavaliers(21-44) were neck and neck with one of the best teams in the league, the Phoenix Suns(47-18). After 48 minutes, the two teams were deadlocked at 114.
However, in OT, the Suns went on a 15-0 run and outscored the Cavaliers 20-4 in the extra session to defeat Cleveland 134-118 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. With the loss, Cleveland has now lost seven straight.
The 16-point victory for Phoenix in overtime was the second-largest OT win in NBA history.
Devin Booker led the Suns with 31 points, and Chris Paul had 23 points and 16 assists. For Cleveland, rookie Isaac Okoro had a career-high 32 points and a career-high-tying six assists. Collin Sexton, who added 29 points, reached 4,000 points for his NBA career, becoming the second-youngest player(22) in team history behind LeBron James(20).
“I think we ran out of gas, to be honest with you,” Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said after the game. “I think we exerted so much energy to keep ourselves in the game, give us a chance down the stretch. Our guys, they gave us what they had.”
The Cavs, who have been officially eliminated from the playoffs, are playing for pride. But, they are looking to develop young players like Okoro, and on Tuesday night, Cleveland may have gotten a glimpse at what he could be in the future. the 20-year-old Okoro worked hard on defense, guarding All-Stars’ Devin Booker and Chris Paul, and he carried the scoring load. All of which impressed Bickerstaff.
“We have high hopes for Isaac(Okoro),” Bickerstaff said. “So, I don’t want to say I’m surprised. What I am surprised by is at his young age, how’s he’s never fazed. The moments just aren’t too big for him… We asked him to be aggressive and help carry the load on the offensive end, and by the way, go guard Devin Booker and Chris Paul.”
According to Okoro, whose bank shot sent the game to OT, he’s just doing anything he can to help the Cavs win games.
“I feel like just I’m an all-around player,” Okoro said. “Just trying to rebound, defend, find my teammates, score. Just trying to do anything to help the team win.”
There are no moral victories in the NBA, but for the Cavs, what happened on Tuesday night was perfect. They played hard, they were competitive, and in the end, they lose.
The loss helps put this team in a better position to get another impact player in the lottery. If you look at the rest of the schedule, there might not be another win out there for Cleveland. The last seven games, including Wednesday night’s showdown against the Blazers at home, are all against playoff teams(Dallas 2x, Indy, Bos, Wash, Brooklyn), so it won’t be easy for the Cavaliers.
Leave a Reply