Brooklyn’s Torrid Third-Quarter Too Much For Cavaliers In Defeat

On Sunday night, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Brooklyn Nets were in a tight contest through the game’s first 24 minutes.

Brooklyn led 52-51 as both teams headed into halftime.

But the third quarter proved to be the difference in the game’s outcome, as the Nets eventually eventually defeated the Cavaliers by a final score of 120-101.

Cleveland had its highest-scoring quarter in the period, putting up 29 points. The Wine and Gold shot an efficient 11-for-19 (57.9%) from the field and 4-for-7 (57.1%) from three-point range.

However, Brooklyn had an even better offensive showing in the quarter, shooting 17-for-24 (70.8%) from the field and 8-for-10 (80%) from beyond the arc.

After the game, Cavaliers Head Coach J.B. Bickerstaff described what went wrong for the team in the third period.

“They went 8-for-10 from three,” Bickerstaff said. “We allowed some open ones, then we started to allow rolls and dunks. Overall, it just wasn’t a great quarter defensively for us, but they made shots on top of it.”

Although Cleveland did not win the game, the team did have some bright spots.

Georges Niang scored a team-high 20 points, shooting 8-for-12 (75%) from the field and 3-for-5 (60%) from deep. This was the forward’s second 20-point game of the season, with his first coming in a career performance back on January 17 against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Craig Porter Jr. also made a career-high three three-pointers en route to 13 points and four assists off the bench.

Up next, the Wine and Gold will wrap up a three-game homestand when they host the Phoenix Suns tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m.