In what’s becoming a frustratingly familiar script for Cleveland fans, the Cavaliers decided to play hard for about a quarter and a half on Wednesday night. Spoiler alert: that’s not a winning formula against a team with the firepower of the Houston Rockets. The final buzzer sounded with a 114-104 score line that felt both closer and farther away than the numbers suggest.
For the entire first half, the Cavs looked like they’d rather be anywhere else. They were getting manhandled on the boards, treating the paint like it was lava, and shooting threes as if the rim had personally offended them. A chilly 4-for-20 from beyond the arc pretty much tells the story. It all added up to a gaping 17-point deficit at halftime, leaving fans to wonder if the team had accidentally taken sleeping pills instead of Gatorade.
A Tale Of Two Halves
Then, something clicked. The team that emerged from the locker room for the third quarter looked like, well, an actual NBA team. They stormed back, winning the frame 30-17 by attacking the rim with a vengeance and forcing turnovers. Evan Mobley finally woke from his slumber, dropping eight of his 18 points in a dominant third-quarter stretch that gave the home crowd a jolt of life.
The Cavs clawed their way back, even managing to make it a two-point game early in the fourth. You could feel the hope swelling in the arena. But that’s the thing about digging a 22-point hole against a squad as good as the Rockets. You spend all your energy climbing out, only to have nothing left for the summit.
Houston, led by the unflappable Kevin Durant, simply had too many answers. Every time Cleveland got close, the Rockets would calmly sink a shot and push them back.
Key Takeaways From the Loss
Donovan Mitchell’s night was a perfect microcosm of the team’s performance against the Rockets. The superstar was practically a ghost for three quarters, managing a measly two points on 1-for-7 shooting. He then exploded for 19 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter, a heroic effort that was ultimately too little, too late.
The real killer? Rebounding. The Rockets treated the offensive glass like an all-you-can-eat buffet, feasting on second-chance opportunities. They outscored the Cavs 21-6 in that department. You just can’t give a team with scorers like Durant and Alperen Sengun, who had a monster game with 28 points and 11 boards, that many extra possessions.
This game was a gut punch because it showed flashes of the dominant team we saw last season. But flashes don’t win games. This team is missing the consistent effort and cohesion needed to beat the league’s elite. Without the injured Darius Garland, the lack of a steady hand was glaring. The Cavs will try to right the ship on Friday when they host the Indiana Pacers.
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