Cavs hold off late rally, send Kings to 5th straight loss
ACRAMENTO, Calif. — Jarret Allen had 18 points and 17 rebounds, Darius Garland also had a double-double and the Cleveland Cavaliers held off the Sacramento Kings 109-108 on Monday night.
SKevin Love scored 19 points, Evan Mobley added 17 and Lauri Markkanen and Cedi Osman finished with 15 points apiece. Garland had 12 points and 11 assists as the Cavaliers completed the season sweep of the Kings.
As good as the win felt, Cleveland coach J.B. Bickerstaff wasn’t entirely pleased. The Cavs committed 17 turnovers that led to 20 points, allowed 15 offensive rebounds and went scoreless over the final 2 ½ minutes.
Cleveland led 10999 with 2:34 remaining but went cold. Sacramento went on its biggest run after that and got within 109-108 on two free throws by De’Aaron Fox. After the Cavaliers turned the ball over, Fox missed a 15-footer as time expired.
The Cavaliers led going into the fourth quarter, fell behind by three, then went on a 14-2 run to take a comfortable lead. Mobley, quiet for most of the evening, made a pair of baskets during the run then later made a three-point play to make it 106-99. Markkanen followed with a 3-pointer before the Kings made their late push.
Coming off a season-low two points in Sunday’s 96-82 loss to Golden State on Sunday, Love got the Cavaliers going early and had 14 points in the first half including a 3pointer that put Cleveland ahead by 12.
The Kings got within 47-45 on Marvin Bagley III’s dunk but Garland hit a 3-pointer atop the arc for the Cavs and Osman followed with a pair of free throws. Osman later scored on a reverse just before halftime to make it 62-49.
Lamar Stevens scored six of Cleveland’s first 11 points in the third quarter and fed Allen with an alley-oop pass but Hield made back-to-back 3s then added a third beyond the arc to help Sacramento get within 84-79. (AP)