For the first time during what’s been an amazing season, the Cleveland Cavaliers have lost three games in a row.
The third consecutive defeat came on Saturday night versus the Houston Rockets. Amen Thompson collected a triple-double with 23 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists to lead the Rockets to a 135-131 victory at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.
With three straight losses (and two in a row at home), the Cavs have dropped a half-game behind the Oklahoma City Thunder for the NBA’s best record at 36-9. They also lead the Boston Celtics by 4 1/2 games for the top record in the Eastern Conference. Boston defeated the Dallas Mavericks, 122-107, on Saturday.
Interestingly, two of Cleveland’s losses during this streak have come to the Rockets, who have the league’s third-best record at 30-14. The Cavs lost to Houston on Wednesday, 109-108, when Darius Garland missed two free throws in the closing seconds that would have tied the game.
Garland tried to make up for that in Saturday’s rematch, scoring a game-high 39 points with nine assists. He shot 14-of-22 from the floor, including 4-of-7 on 3-pointers. Donovan Mitchell nearly matched him with 33 points and seven assists.
Yet despite Cleveland’s backcourt combining for 72 points, the Cavaliers couldn’t match Houston getting 20 or more points from four different players. Alperen Şengün and Jalen Green each scored 26 points, while Fred VanVleet added 20. VanVleet connected on 6-of-9 3-pointers, as well.
Perhaps the difference was in the frontcourt with Şengün and Steven Adams combining for 40 points along with Thompson’s second career triple-double. Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen countered with 15 for the Cavs, but Tristan Thompson contributed zero points off the bench. Mobley played after missing four games with a strained right calf.
Cleveland took an 18-17 lead in the first quarter, but Houston rallied to go on top 33-27 and didn’t relinquish the lead through the rest of the game. The Rockets led by 19 points early by the end of the third, but the Cavaliers tied the score at 104-104. However, Houston regained the lead on a Şengün and held it for the rest of the game by going 8-for-10 at the free throw line.
The Cavs will try to end their losing streak on Monday, hosting the Detroit Pistons. The Rockets continue a four-game road trip by visiting the Celtics, also on Monday.
