Williamson and the Pelicans are too much for Cleveland.
The Cleveland Cavaliers fought hard Sunday night in a 116-109 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. The Cavaliers were short handed, coming off a terrible 20 point loss to the Raptors in a game which they were favored to win. Without their starting back court in Darius Garland (ankle injury) and Collin Sexton (groin injury), Cleveland struggled to find scoring late. The Cavs really missed them in a tight game down the stretch, especially the fourth quarter. These were just two players out for the Cavs while they were also missing their front court in Jarret Allen and Larry Nance.
¨Zion is a bully,¨ Cavalier head coach J.B Bickerstaff stated in his post-game press. Williamson ended the night with 38 big points and added along 9 rebounds. Also, picking up his defensive intensity helped hold the Cavs to 15 fourth-quarter points. Also helping New Orleans Sunday night was former All-Star Brandon Ingram, who tallied 27 points and distributed the ball well with 8 assists on the night.
The Cavaliers got everyone involved Sunday. They kept it close with career highs from Dean Wade (21) and Isacc Okoro (19). Love also added 19 points and Matthew Dellavedova, in his first start in over 2 years, added 10 assists for Cleveland in the loss. Without key players, the role players did a great job filling in.
Cleveland lost both games on this 2 game home stand, after taking 2 big wins on the road. The Cavs now standing (19-34) will get a rare 2 days off and will travel to Charlotte to take on the Hornets (27-25) on Wednesday.
