Cavs fall to fifth consecutive defeat and more questions are asked…
Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins led the way on Sunday night as he inspired his team to a rout of a LeBron-less Cleveland Cavaliers.
Cousins had 26 points and 13 rebounds in the win as Cleveland fell to their fifth straight loss and their seventh in eight games without LeBron James who was still sidelined with back and knee strains.
Cleveland are now 19-19 for the season as they continue to slump, while Sacramento showed flashes of how good they can be when their players are locked in and focused.
Rudy Gay added 23 points as they improve to 16-21 for the season, while they able to limit Kyrie Irving to 21 points and seven assists as Kevin Love added 25 points and 10 rebounds.
Nevertheless, the Cavs are still struggling to piece everything together as they continue to fight the battle without James, while JR Smith is still settling into the rotation.
“We’re going through a lot of trials and tribulations, a lot of changes,” Cleveland coach David Blatt said. “We’re making adjustments on the fly. Tonight was definitely not a step forward. It wasn’t a good performance, you can’t sugar coat it.”
Elsewhere, the Portland Trail Blazers overcame the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center with point guard Damian Lillard scoring 17 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter to power them to victory.
The Miami Heat stunned the Los Angeles Clippers to end a three-game road skid with Chris Bosh scoring 34 points while Hassan Whiteside had 23 points and 16 rebounds.
In contrast, things weren’t so easy for the Memphis Grizzlies who needed overtime to see off the Phoenix Suns with Zach Randolph enjoying a monster night with 27 points and 17 boards.
However, it was business as usual for the Atlanta Hawks as they extended their lead at the top of the Eastern Conference with a win over the Washington Wizards.
Kyle Korver scored 19 points to lead the way as the Hawks had too much for their rivals as they now improve to 29-8 for the season.
NBA Results
Washington Wizards 89-120 Atlanta Hawks
Miami Heat 104-90 Los Angeles Clippers
Phoenix Suns 110-122 Memphis Grizzlies
Cleveland Cavaliers 84-103 Sacramento Kings
Portland Trail Blazers 106-94 Los Angeles Lakers
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