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Wizards vs. Cavaliers final score: Washington gradually squanders early lead, loses 113-108

Despite a 16-point lead in the second quarter, the Washington Wizards went into ... #SoWizards mode. That prevented them from getting their first three-game win streak of the season.

By Albert Lee
Cleveland Cavaliers v Washington Wizards
Rui Hachimura was a bright spot in the Washington Wizards’ game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Feb. 21.
Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images

Just when it seems like the Washington Wizards have turned a corner, they regress once again. That’s what we saw when they lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday, 113-108.

Like many games, the Wizards found a way to get to a big lead early, leading 41-32 thanks to forcing Cleveland into six turnovers. They led by as many as 16 points in the second quarter.

But from there, it was a slow, painful regression back to the mean, and then some. Washington’s shooting cooled down while Cleveland kept chipping away, and chipping away at that lead some more.

Bradley Beal had the highlight of the game with this posterizing dunk on Andre Drummond in the middle of the third quarter while Washington was still leading.

But it doesn’t really mean much when the Wizards ended up shooting just 31 percent from the field in the quarter when he made that dunk, even though I’ll admit it was nice. Beal finished with 34 points, but shot just 9-of-28 from the field. It wasn’t exactly his best night.

Rui Hachimura also added 17 points and 7 rebounds.

For Cleveland, Collin Sexton led their scorers with 24 points. However, their center duo of Andre Drummond (12 points, 12 rebounds) and Tristan Thompson (10 points, 11 rebounds) also had double-doubles.

The Wizards will head on the road this Sunday to face off against the Chicago Bulls on Sunday, Feb. 23. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. ET.