The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Cavs come up short to Kings in OT loss, 116-112
Arron Afflalo dropped a 3-pointer with 17.3 seconds left in overtime, lifting the Sacramento Kings to a 116-112 win Wednesday night at Quicken Loans Arena over the slumping Cavaliers, who lost for the sixth time in eight games amid criticism by LeBron James.
DeMarcus Cousins had 28 points and 10 rebounds for the Kings, who trailed by five in overtime before battling back. Darren Collison added 23 points for Sacramento.
After Afflalo’s 3, James missed a deep 3-point attempt for the Cavs, who were then forced to foul Cousins. Sacramento’s big man dropped one of two to put away the reeling NBA champions.
James finished with 24 points,
13 rebounds and 11 assists, and Kevin Love had 21 points and 16 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough as the Cavs didn’t play with poise down the stretch.
Cleveland went 17 of 34 from the free-throw line.
This was the Cavs’ first game since James called the team’s roster “top
heavy” and questioned whether the organization was fully committed to winning a second title.
James met with his teammates, coach Tyronn Lue and general manager David Griffin earlier in the day to discuss the remarks he made following a loss on Monday at New Orleans. Griffin was most upset with the superstar’s assertion that the Cavs appeared satisfied.
“It was the most misguided
comment that came out of any of this,” Griffin said. “It was the thing I think that was not wrought out of his frustration.”
There will be more dissect after the Cavs lost to a Sacramento team that had lost eight of 10 coming in and is on an eightgame road trip.
Cleveland was in control and seemed on its way to a win, leading 9787 midway through the
fourth. But the Kings kept chipping away, and thanks to Cleveland’s struggles at the line, Sacramento was able to force overtime.
Irving could have given the Cavs a threepoint lead with 12.4 seconds left, but the All-Star guard missed the second of two free throws. The Kings then tied it when Cousins bulled his way for a layup with 3.4 seconds left.