The Cleveland Cavaliers lost a close one.
They could’ve clinched the best record in the Eastern Conference with a win over the Sacramento Kings, but Doug Christie’s team had different plans.
Things could’ve been a little closer, but a controversial decision granted the Kings a timely bucket.
Zach LaVine seemed to shoot the basketball with no time left in the 24-second shot clock.
Following the game, Crew Chief Courtney Kirkland admitted that the referees messed up:
“Well, we made a mistake. During live action we thought that LaVine released the ball prior to the expiration of the shot clock. If we were going to review, we would have had to review it before the ball was legally touched on the floor during the throw in, right after the made basket,” referee crew chief Courtney Kirkland said.
Then again, as much as the team and the fans should be angry about that, it’s just a part of the game.
If anything, you can’t put yourself in a position in which a single shot could be the difference between winning or losing a game.
Kenny Atkinson and his team had 48 minutes to win that game, and even if it had gone down to the wire, you never lose a game on just a single play.
The Cavs seemed to take their foot off the gas down the stretch, and while that usually happens with teams that clinch their spot in the postseason so early in the campaign, that’s not where you want to be when the playoffs come.
This team was utterly dominant for most of the season, and we would hate it if this promising season went to waste because they were overconfident or went through the motions.
They have a handful of games to make sure to get back to what worked for them earlier in the season, and they need to find that fire and hunger again.
NEXT: Kings HC Praises Cavs After Matchup On Sunday
