Subscribe
Follow Us
Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers had every reason to rise against Zach LaVine and the Sacramento Kings. One win away from clinching the Eastern Conference’s top seed, the city buzzing, a sellout crowd roaring, and the playoffs just two weeks out—this was supposed to be a celebration. Instead, Sacramento turned it into a wake-up call, handing Cleveland a 120-113 loss that stung far beyond the final buzzer.
It wasn’t just another game. This was a chance for the Cavs to make a statement, to show that their early-season dominance hadn’t evaporated into spring haze. But the effort wasn’t there. The intensity wasn’t there. And the execution? That evaporated entirely during long stretches of uninspired play.
It’s becoming an unsettling trend.
This wasn’t a one-off. The issues—lackluster defense, poor shot selection, waning focus—have crept in like shadows over the past month. The crisp ball movement, suffocating rotations, and next-man-up mentality that defined the Cavs during their three longest win streaks have vanished. In their place: confusion, inconsistency, and complacency.
The Cavs let the Kings tip the scales scoring-wise
The loss to Sacramento wasn’t some fluke. The Kings, led by a scorching Zach LaVine (37 points) and a vintage DeMar DeRozan (28), seized the moment. Add in Domantas Sabonis’ near triple-double and a questionable late-game shot-clock violation that wasn’t called, and the Kings walked out of Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse with a confidence-boosting win—and left the Cavs searching for theirs.
What made the defeat more jarring was the emotional rollercoaster attached to it. Early in the second half, Donovan Mitchell collapsed in pain with an apparent left ankle injury. The entire arena held its breath. Trainers helped him to the locker room as the crowd groaned in collective concern. For a team preaching the importance of health heading into the postseason, this looked like the nightmare scenario.
But Mitchell returned. And when he did, it was electric.
With the Cavs down four midway through the third, Mitchell’s entrance reignited the building. He immediately fueled a 10-0 Cleveland run to start the fourth, scoring five and assisting on the rest. Ty Jerome’s floater gave Cleveland the lead back, and for a moment, it felt like the night might still belong to the Cavaliers.
Then reality hit.
Cleveland isn't letting a controversial Zach LaVine bucket define their loss to Sacramento
Trading buckets down the stretch, the Cavs couldn’t string together stops. Sacramento kept punching. And with 46 seconds left, LaVine’s controversial layup—appearing to beat the buzzer by a whisper—sealed it.
Even with Mitchell gutting out 33 minutes for 19 points, and Jerome leading the team with 20, it wasn’t enough. Not with the defense so porous and the overall energy so suspect.
“We’re ready,” Jerome said after the game, still confident. “We’re definitely ready.”
But are they?
Mitchell’s postgame remarks struck a more measured tone. “I don’t think we’re sitting here with our heads down,” he said. “The biggest thing is being healthy—mentally and physically—and being ready when it counts.”
That’s all well and good. And yes, the Cavs, like other contenders (the Oklahoma City Thunder, for example, who’ve recently dropped games to inferior teams), may just be coasting until the real stakes hit. But that’s a dangerous game to play in a conference as deep and unforgiving as the East.
The Cavs have to look in the mirror before the playoffs begin
This loss to the Kings was a missed opportunity. Not just to lock up homecourt advantage, but to reassert their identity. To prove they’re still the team no one wants to see in a seven-game series. Instead, they looked like a squad that’s unsure of itself, trying to flip a switch that may or may not work come playoff time.
There are still games left. Another chance comes soon against the Chicago Bulls. And while standings implications may be minimal, momentum is not. The Cavs need to get back to what made them elite in the first place—grit, focus, and trust in one another.
Because right now, it feels like that top seed, that playoff push, that title dream—they’re all still within reach. But they’re slipping. And if Sunday’s loss taught us anything, it’s that belief without execution is just noise.
The Kings walked into Cleveland and turned a coronation into a cautionary tale. Now it’s on the Cavs to decide how the story ends.
