The Wizards were just better at hitting 3's down the stretch. Kuzma knocked down two while Rubio missed a wide open one and Garland missed his with 3 seconds left.
Kuzma was 4-for-4 on three-points shots in the 4th quarter. That normally doesn't happen. He came in hitting 34.9% from deep.
I thought the Cavs should have got a better shot with 11.4 seconds to work with, down by 1 point, and in the bonus. The Wizards couldn't foul. But all the Cavs did was hand it to Garland and have him shoot a long 3. They had plenty of time to attack the rim.
They key was Okoro getting undercut by Harrell on his defensive rebound with 1:26 to go and the Cavs up by five. If Okoro comes down with that rebound the Cavs would have won. Just a very unusual play where a guy grabs a rebound with both hands, comes down on an opponent, takes a hard fall and loses the ball. You never see that.
Harrell and Kuzma won this game for them. That and getting 12 offensive rebounds to six for the Cavs. The Wizards took eight more shots and won by 3.
Wade and Okoro both started and combined for 5 points in 56 minutes. Wow. It's tough to win when two starters combine for 5 points.
The six missed free throws killed us but how often does a team go 17-for-17? Still, if you shoot 71% on free throws while giving up 12 offensive boards you deserve to lose.
Once the Wizards get Bryant, Hachimura, and Bertans back they will be scary good. They beat us tonight without two starters, a key reserve, and with Beal shooting 4-for-19. KCP was 1-for-8.