Kyle Kuzma drained a pair of 3-pointers late in the fourth quarter to fuel the visiting Washington Wizards to a 97-94 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday.
Montrezl Harrell recorded 24 points and 11 rebounds off the bench and Kuzma added 22 points to send the Wizards to their third straight win.
Bradley Beal, who entered Wednesday’s contest averaging a team-leading 24.2 points per game, was limited to just 13 following a disastrous 4-of-19 performance from the floor. He missed his first 10 shots before sinking a step-back jumper and a driving layup on consecutive possessions late in the third quarter.
Kuzma sank a wide-open 3-pointer to cut the Cavaliers’ lead to 93-92 with 26 seconds to play. Cleveland’s Ricky Rubio split a pair of free throws to increase his team’s advantage, however Kuzma calmly made a 3-pointer from the corner to give Washington a one-point lead.
Darius Garland missed a 3-pointer with 4.3 seconds to play and Corey Kispert converted a layup at the other end to cap the scoring.
Rubio had 20 points off the bench and Garland and rookie Evan Mobley each scored 19 for the Cavaliers, who were denied their first five-game winning streak since March 28-April 5, 2018. Reigning Eastern Conference Player of the Week Jarrett Allen collected 13 points and 10 rebounds for his fifth straight double-double.
Isaac Okoro scored just two points in his return from a seven-game absence due to a strained left hamstring. He started in place of the injured Collin Sexton, who is sidelined with a torn meniscus in his left knee.
Cleveland scored the last 11 points of the second quarter to secure a 49-44 lead at intermission. Lamar Stevens converted a three-point play and Garland drained a 3-pointer to highlight the surge.
Washington forged a tie by scoring the first five points of the third quarter before Garland and Dean Wade each sank a 3-pointer and Mobley added four points to complete a 10-0 run by the Cavaliers.
–Field Level Media