The Cleveland Cavaliers let another one slip away, dropping their third straight game in a frustrating 123-119 loss to the Sacramento Kings. Like every other game in this three-game losing streak, it was yet another night where the Cavs looked in control until everything came tumbling down.
The opening quarter followed a familiar script. The Cavs stormed out of the gate, suffocating Sacramento’s offense and holding them to just 15 points in the first 12 minutes, their second-lowest opening-quarter total all season. It looked like the Kings were on their way to becoming the latest victim of Cleveland’s early-game dominance.
Except, they weren’t.
Sacramento clawed back, cutting a once-13-point deficit to just two early in the second quarter. The Cavs managed to stabilize before halftime, heading into the break up by nine, but the warning signs were there. The Kings weren’t going away, and Cleveland’s tendency to fall apart in the second half loomed ominously over what should have been a winnable game.
That premonition became a painful reality. After Cleveland briefly pushed the lead back to double digits early in the third, Sacramento unleashed a relentless offensive onslaught. A flurry of made shots sent the Golden 1 Center into a frenzy, and by the 4:35 mark of the third quarter, the Kings had seized their second lead of the night. Less than two minutes later, that lead ballooned to 11.
Despite the loss, the Cavs didn’t fold under pressure
The Cavs, to their credit, did not fold immediately. Evan Mobley came to life in a way Cleveland had never seen before, igniting a 12-0 run with 10 points of his own. By the end of the third quarter and into the early fourth, Mobley had scored 18 of the team’s last 20 points, seemingly willing the Cavs back from the brink.
But the Kings had the answer time and again.
At the 6:20 mark of the fourth, Cleveland held a five-point lead. A victory was within reach, a chance to end this losing streak and regain their footing as the playoffs drew near. Instead, Sacramento responded with a 7-0 run, reclaiming control and never looking back.
Fans were enlivened, cowbells clanging, it was crunch time, the kind of moment where the Cavs had thrived all season.
Not this time.
The Kings executed brilliantly in the closing minutes, while the Cavs’ defense, which had once defined their success, crumbled when it mattered most. Sacramento’s DeMar DeRozan and Malik Monk buried clutch shots against an increasingly helpless Cleveland defense. Despite late-game heroics from Mobley and Donovan Mitchell—who combined for 20 points in the fourth quarter—the Kings owned the final stretch, outscoring the Cavs 14-12 over the last 4:44.
Cleveland won the first half convincingly. They lost the second half 76-63.
That stat tells the entire story.
“I thought we were phenomenal in the first half in terms of making them miss and making them take bad shots,” Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said. “Then the second half, they shoot 68% and that kind of tells it all. The headline has to be: We couldn’t get stops. We couldn’t get stops in the second half and we couldn’t get stops at the end. We did not execute defensively and paid for it. Our defense was just not good enough in crunch time.”
Cleveland has to re-find its clutch-time identity
Sacramento, playing without All-Star center Domantas Sabonis (hamstring) and Zach LaVine (personal), didn’t look like a team missing key pieces. Instead, they played with energy, resilience, and a sense of urgency that Cleveland couldn’t match when it mattered most.
Mitchell, who has struggled since returning from a groin injury, finished with 26 points but shot just 8-of-17 from the field. More concerning than the shooting slump was his decision-making—careless turnovers and forced shots that put the Cavs in precarious positions throughout the night.
“His challenge is to be that for all 48 minutes,” said Mitchell of Mobley. “That’s the challenge for all of us. But this is who he is, this is the level he can play to, and this is the worst he is going to be. But it’s continuing to take that step. He has answered every call all season.”
Mobley was brilliant, posting a game-high 31 points and 10 rebounds while hitting multiple three-pointers—a rarity in his young career. But even his breakout performance wasn’t enough to cover up the Cavs’ larger issues.
Cleveland’s second-half collapses aren’t new. Even during their franchise-record 16-game winning streak, the cracks were visible. They had routinely overcome slow starts, sloppy play, and defensive lapses. But now, the streak is over, and so is the illusion that these problems aren’t real.
You can make excuses. It’s a long West Coast road trip. The team has dealt with injuries. Opponents have caught fire at the worst possible times.
But there’s no excuse for blowing double-digit leads in back-to-back games. There’s no excuse for repeatedly throwing the ball away for easy opponent baskets. And there’s certainly no excuse for allowing an opponent to shoot 68% in the second half.
The Cavs will make the playoffs. They may even secure the top seed in the East barring an unforeseen collapse. But if they don’t solve their second-half woes, this team’s postseason run will be short-lived.
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