HOUSTON \u2014 Nearly two hours before tipoff the news was revealed \u2014 the kind that seemed favorable to the enigmatic Cavs. <\/p>\n
Rockets center Alperen Sengun, historically a burly thorn in Cleveland\u2019s side, was ruled out because of a calf injury.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe job doesn\u2019t get any easier,\u201d a Cavs player rebutted to cleveland.com. <\/p>\n
He was right. <\/p>\n
Cleveland got blasted by the Rockets, 117-100, on Saturday night inside Toyota Center. It\u2019s the Cavaliers\u2019 second straight loss. They are now 17-16 this season. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe weren\u2019t ready for the fight tonight,\u201d Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said following the loss. \u201cCall it what you want. Christmas hangover? I have no idea. It wasn\u2019t the same team that played the other night against the Knicks. They manhandled us physically and I didn\u2019t like our response.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sengun leads Houston in rebounding and assists. He is the second leading scorer. Nearly had a triple-double in the first meeting between the two teams in Cleveland \u2014 also a Houston W. <\/p>\n
On Saturday night, the Rockets didn\u2019t need him. <\/p>\n
Three lead changes. Two ties. A game-high 31-point lead. Nearly 48 minutes of Houston dominance, making the cap-strapped Cavs look anything but like a title contender \u2014 something they keep claiming to be. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s tough. It\u2019s a concern factor,\u201d Donovan Mitchell admitted. \u201cIt\u2019s the how. It\u2019s not the loss. It\u2019s the how. We have to figure it out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Early Saturday morning at shootaround, Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson revealed a specific number to his team. <\/p>\n
Twenty-six. <\/p>\n
As in Cleveland\u2019s defensive rating over the last 10 games. No matter the circumstances, it\u2019s an unacceptable mark for a team that views defense as its backbone. <\/p>\n
About nine hours later, the Cavs gave up 32 first-quarter points. By the end of the first half, Houston had poured in 60, taking a 14-point advantage into the locker room. <\/p>\n
The long, athletic and grimy Rockets opened the third quarter on a 6-2 surge, going in front by 18, the biggest lead of the night to that point. That advantage increased to 24 around the five-minute mark \u2014 right about the time an irate Atkinson picked up a technical foul for expressing his displeasure with referee Marc Davis. <\/p>\n
That outburst didn\u2019t help. Nothing did. <\/p>\n
\u201cI rarely say this, but I thought the game was over in the first quarter,\u201d Atkinson said pointedly. \u201cThese kinds of performances happen in the NBA. But I\u2019ve gotta be honest, I didn\u2019t like how it happened.\u201d<\/p>\n
December is almost over. Can\u2019t use the justification of it being early anymore. <\/p>\n
Evan Mobley is back \u2014 albeit on a minute restriction that had him coming off the bench for a second straight game. Sam Merrill is back too, playing his fourth straight game following a one-month hiatus. Darius Garland, listed as probable going into the game after missing shootaround because of an illness, was able to suit up and log 24 minutes. <\/p>\n
Saturday was the shortest injury report Cleveland had all season, with only Max Strus (offseason foot surgery), Larry Nance Jr. (calf strain) and Nae\u2019Qwan Tomlin (G League two-way) the only expected regulars out of the lineup. <\/p>\n
Can\u2019t use the undermanned defense anymore either. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe word is disappointing,\u201d Mitchell said when asked to characterize the latest blowout defeat. \u201cWe didn\u2019t match the fight. Everybody besides Jaylon Tyson, Tyrese Proctor, Thomas Bryant, Craig Porter, those four guys did. We didn\u2019t. Can\u2019t be the case.\u201d<\/p>\n
Houston swingman Kevin Durant, the team\u2019s offseason prize that changed the franchise\u2019s trajectory, tallied a game-high 30 points on 11 of 17 shooting to go with seven assists and four rebounds in 29 minutes. Durant didn\u2019t even see the floor in the fourth quarter. Only two Rockets starters did \u2014 Amen Thompson and Tari Eason.<\/p>\n
Thompson chipped in with 13 points and nine rebounds. Jabari Smith Jr. had 15 points and seven boards while young guard Reed Sheppard finished with 18 points and eight assists in 32 productive minutes off the bench. <\/p>\n
The Cavs were led by Jaylon Tyson who had 23 points and 15 rebounds in a reserve role. Mitchell scored just 16 points. Garland mustered 12 to go with one assist against three turnovers. <\/p>\n
\u201cJaylon was the beacon tonight,\u201d Atkinson said. \u201cThat\u2019s how you have to play. He was ready for the fight. He was ready for the physicality. He was ready for the game. I highlighted him after the game. I said, \u2018That\u2019s what we needed across the board, and we didn\u2019t get it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Saturday was the beginning of a challenging \u2014 and perhaps season-shaping \u2014 stretch, as seven of the next eight games come against quality opponents with an above-.500 record. <\/p>\n
Call it a measuring stick. <\/p>\n
At this point, the Cavs don\u2019t look like they stack up. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got to love the challenge, we\u2019ve got to embrace the challenge,\u201d Mitchell said. \u201cIf we\u2019re not then tonight will happen again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Up next<\/p>\n
The Cavs will continue this road trip with a matchup against the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HOUSTON \u2014 Nearly two hours before tipoff the news was revealed \u2014 the kind that seemed favorable to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":373030,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[434],"tags":[49,48,459,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-373029","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-nba","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/373029","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=373029"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/373029\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/373030"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=373029"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=373029"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=373029"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}