Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James looks on from the bench during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Washington Wizards, Sunday, Feb. 28, 2016, in Washington. Inset shows Wizards guard Ramon Sessions (7) struggling for the ball against Cavaliers forward Richard Jefferson (24). James did not play. The Wizards won 113-99. AP
WASHINGTON, United States — With LeBron James grabbing a rare night off to rest, the Cleveland Cavaliers proved no match for the Washington Wizards, losing 113-99 in an NBA matchup Sunday.
Washington guard John Wall had 21 points and 13 assists while Otto Porter added 21 points and Bradley Beal had 17 for the hosts.
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Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue said that after James scored 25 points in 40 minutes in a Friday win over Toronto, he wanted to give the four-time NBA Most Valuable Player a break after playing 56 of the team’s prior 57 contests this season.
“We have three games in four nights,” Lue said. “I just felt today was a good game to give him some rest.”
James leads the Cavaliers with 24.7 points and 35.9 minutes a game.
The Eastern Conference-leading Cavaliers fell to 41-17 while the Wizards improved to 28-30.
The Wizards led after each quarter and by as many as 30 points in the second half on the way to inflicting Cleveland’s third loss in four games.
Kyrie Irving led the Cavaliers with 28 points. Kevin Love added 12 points, but didn’t score in the second half.
The Cavaliers fell to 0-2 this season without James and 3-12 when he sits since the four-time NBA Most Valuable Player returned to Cleveland before the 2014-15 season.