Juwan Howard had 28 points and 15 rebounds, Otis Thorpe scored 17 points and Washington’s beleaguered front court had its best game of the season.
Add Mitch Richmond’s 29 points, Rod Strickland’s 16 assists and six steals and Terry Davis’ body-to-body defense on Shawn Kemp, and the Wizards were able to put together their biggest margin of victory this season in a game in which they never trailed and put away with a 32-11 run in the third quarter.
The loss, which snapped a three-game winning streak and returned Cleveland to the .500 mark, was the Cavaliers’ worst defeat of the year and one in which they really missed center Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who is out most of the season with a broken foot.
Already last in rebounding in the NBA, the Cavs were dominated 45-33 on the boards by the Wizards, the third-worst rebounding team in the league. Cleveland didn’t have an offensive rebound in the first half.
For the Cavaliers, the picture was simple: When Kemp stopped being a factor 6 minutes into the game, the team slumped. Kemp went more than 15 minutes without a field goal, and the Wizards extended a three-point lead to 12 during the drought.
Kemp, with Davis pratically wearing his jersey, scored 10 of his 15 points in the first quarter. Johnny Newman led Cleveland with 18 points.
