Washington Wizards at Cleveland Cavaliers

NBA-leading Cavaliers beat Wizards 118-87, extending Washington's losing streak to 15

Sam Merrill and Georges Niang each scored 14 points off the bench for Cleveland, which has the best record in the NBA at 19-3 and is 12-1 at home. The 31-point win was the Cavaliers’ largest of the season.

Cleveland point guard Darius Garland had 12 points before leaving with a head injury in the third quarter. Garland was struck by an inadvertent elbow from Wizards center Jonas Valanciunas in the paint. Coach Kenny Atkinson said Garland wasn't expect to miss any time.

Valanciunas, Jordan Poole and rookie Bub Carrington scored 13 points for Washington in the final NBA Cup game for both teams. Valanciunas also grabbed 11 rebounds in 19 minutes.

Takeaways Wizards: Rookie forward Kyshawn George and guard Corey Kispert each sustained sprained left ankles in a 78-second span in the second quarter and were ruled out. Guard Malcolm Brogdon exited in the third with right knee soreness.

Cavaliers: Cleveland received a big scare early in the third when Mitchell ran off the court with his right arm dangling after his shoulder was clipped on a pick by Valanciunas. The All-Star shooting guard returned to play two minutes later.

Key moment Cleveland led from wire to wire, but didn’t go up by 20 points until late in the second quarter. Garland scored five points and had an assist in a 10-0 run that extended the Cavaliers’ advantage to 48-28.

Key stat The Cavaliers beat Washington for the 10th straight time — their longest winning streak in the 55-year series — to take a 119-118 overall lead. Cleveland’s average margin of victory during the ongoing run is 19.2 points.

Up next The Wizards host Dallas on Thursday. The Cavaliers wrap up their three-game homestand Thursday against Denver.

Regular Season Series

CLE leads series 2-0