Cavaliers beat Wizards 118-87 | News, Sports, Jobs

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) confronts Bilal Coulibaly of the Washington Wizards, right, in half of an NBA Cup basketball game, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

CLEVELAND — Donovan Mitchell scored 19 points and Evan Mobley had 19 points and 10 rebounds as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Wizards 118-87 Tuesday night, extending Washington’s losing streak to 15.

Sam Merrill and Georges Niang each scored 14 points off the bench for Cleveland, which has the best record in the NBA with 19-3 and 12-1 at home. The 31-point victory was the Cavaliers’ largest of the season.

Cleveland point guard Darius Garland had 12 points before leaving with a head injury in the third quarter. Garland was hit by an inadvertent elbow from Wizards center Jonas Valanciunas in the paint. Coach Kenny Atkinson said Garland didn’t expect to miss any time.

Valanciunas, Jordan Poole and rookie Bub Carrington scored 13 points for Washington in the final NBA Cup game for both teams. Valanciunas also grabbed 11 rebounds in 19 minutes.

TAKE AWAY

Wizards: Rookie forward Kyshawn George and guard Corey Kispert each suffered left ankle sprains 78 seconds into the second quarter and were ruled out. Guard Malcolm Brogdon left in the third with right knee soreness.

Cavaliers: Cleveland had a big scare early in the third when Mitchell ran off the field with his right arm dangling after his shoulder was cut on a pick by Valanciunas. The All-Star shooter returned to play two minutes later.

KEY MOMENT

Cleveland led from wire to wire, but didn’t go up by 20 points until the end of the second quarter. Garland scored five points and had an assist in a 10-0 run that increased the Cavaliers’ advantage to 48-28.