Cavaliers survive rare bad-shooting night, rely on defense to down Wizards

CLEVELAND — It was anything but a thing of beauty. With a five-day layoff to blame, the Cavaliers limped past the lowly Washington Wizards 115-105 Friday at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. The Wizards (3-20), who have the worst record in the NBA, played without seven players, and they're not very good to begin with. The game was scheduled last week after both teams were eliminated from the NBA Cup. Both teams played hard, but it was sloppy and hard on the eyes. Cleveland's efficient shooting — it leads the league in field goal percentage and 3-point percentage — was not on display. The Cavs (22-4) shot just .396 from the field and .294 from long distance. Guard Darius Garland paced paced Cleveland with 24 points, five rebounds, a game-high eight assists and two steals. Guard Donovan Mitchell contributed 20 points, six rebounds and six assists. Center Jarrett Allen was effective with 21 points and a game-high 11 rebounds and forward Isaac Okoro added 12 points. The Cavs got a strong performance off the bench, as Caris LeVert had 14 points, five rebounds and six assists. Georges Niang added 10 points and Sam Merrill had nine. Wizards forward Bilal Coulibaly had a game-high 27 points, six rebounds, five assists and two blocked shots. Cleveland led 87-80 after three quarters. It was not seriously threatened in the fourth. The Cavs hung on for a 57-54 advantage at halftime after shooting .364 from the field and .308 from long distance. Garland picked it up in the second quarter with 14 points after being shut out in the opening period. He added four rebounds, five assists and one steal. Two members of Cleveland's makeshift frontcourt — Okoro and Dean Wade — combined for two points in the first half and were blanked at the 3-point line. The Cavs were playing without starting power forward Evan Mobley, sidelined with an ankle injury. The Cavs were fortunate to fight back into a 25-25 game after the first quarter. They trailed by nine points early. Strus sits Guard/forward Max Strus, who has missed the entire season with an ankle injury, was held out of the Washington game. Many believed he'd face the Wizards. "He had two great days of practice," Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said. "We take our time. I'm part of that decision. He's making progress. We want to make sure there are no setbacks. We should see him soon." Mobley (ankle) was held out of the game as a precaution. "It's not a long-term thing," Atkinson said. "We want to err on the side of caution." Making an impression Cavs rookie guard Jaylon Tyson has opened some eyes. Atkinson said he's impressed with how professional Tyson is. He said the first-round pick from California conducts himself like a 10-year veteran. "He has respect in the locker room," the coach said. "He knows how to mesh with the vets and the rookies. I give him an A+ grade in every sense. He listens but doesn't cow-tow to the vets." TV time There have been two changes to the national TV schedule involving the Cavs. Their game vs. Oklahoma City at 7 p.m. on Jan. 8 will now be televised by ESPN. Also, Cleveland's road game at Oklahoma City at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 16 will now be televised by TNT. Contact Bob Finnan at rfinnan30@gmail.com. Follow him @BobCavsinsider on X.