Deadspin | Cavaliers rest core players, deal another defeat to Wizards 
Apr 12, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Tyrese Proctor (24) drives to the basket against Washington Wizards guard Sharife Cooper (13) during the first half at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images Nae’Qwan Tomlin scored a career-high 26 points and rookie Tyrese Proctor collected 22 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists as the playoff-bound Cleveland Cavaliers beat the visiting Washington Wizards 130-117 on Sunday afternoon.
Jaylon Tyson had 18 points and rookie Tristan Enaruna had a season-best 15 points for Cleveland (52-30), which is the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference. The Cavaliers jumped in front 43-21 after one quarter and led from wire to wire in the victory.
Cleveland will have home-court advantage over the fifth-place Toronto Raptors in their first-round series.
Rookie guard Jamir Watkins scored a career-high 24 points for the Wizards (17-65), who finished with the worst record in the league. Bub Carrington scored 20 points and dished out nine assists, and Sharife Cooper had 20 points and six assists off the bench.
Cleveland had eight players reach double digits in points, including a career-best 12 from Riley Minix and 10 from Olivier Sarr. Both are on two-way contracts.
The Cavaliers used their 41st starting lineup, resting their entire rotation except for Max Strus and Tyson. Their core four of Donovan Mitchell, James Harden, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen took part in the fan appreciation night festivities.
With nothing tangible to play for, both teams chose to only dress nine players.
Carrington extended his consecutive game streak to 164. The University of Pittsburgh product is the first player to appear in every game in his first two seasons since Karl-Anthony Towns with the Minnesota Timberwolves from 2015-2017.
The Wizards slowly reduced their deficit throughout the third, getting as close as 95-93 on a Cooper 3-pointer with 1:26 left in the quarter. Proctor had 10 points in the fourth as the Cavaliers closed the door by outscoring Washington 31-22.
Carrington made back-to-back 3-pointers and tacked on a free throw in a personal 9-0 run to end the first half, pulling Washington within 65-55. He scored 12 points in the quarter, while Tyson led Cleveland with 14 and Tomlin had 13 at the break.
Tyson scored 11 points and Strus had eight in the first quarter, when the Cavaliers built a 25-point lead and were up 43-21. Watkins and Anthony Gill had seven points apiece for the Wizards.
Cleveland, which lost in the 2025 Eastern Conference semifinals to the Indiana Pacers, only has one injured player heading into the postseason. Center Thomas Bryant (left calf strain) is questionable, according to coach Kenny Atkinson.
The Cavaliers have won 16 straight over Washington, their second-longest streak in franchise history. Cleveland beat the Orlando Magic 17 consecutive times from 2013-17.
–Field Level Media
#Deadspin #Cavaliers #rest #core #players #deal #defeat #Wizards
Apr 12, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Tyrese Proctor (24) drives to the basket against Washington Wizards guard Sharife Cooper (13) during the first half at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images Nae’Qwan Tomlin scored a career-high 26 points and rookie Tyrese Proctor collected 22 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists as the playoff-bound Cleveland Cavaliers beat the visiting Washington Wizards 130-117 on Sunday afternoon.
Jaylon Tyson had 18 points and rookie Tristan Enaruna had a season-best 15 points for Cleveland (52-30), which is the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference. The Cavaliers jumped in front 43-21 after one quarter and led from wire to wire in the victory.
Cleveland will have home-court advantage over the fifth-place Toronto Raptors in their first-round series.
Rookie guard Jamir Watkins scored a career-high 24 points for the Wizards (17-65), who finished with the worst record in the league. Bub Carrington scored 20 points and dished out nine assists, and Sharife Cooper had 20 points and six assists off the bench.
Cleveland had eight players reach double digits in points, including a career-best 12 from Riley Minix and 10 from Olivier Sarr. Both are on two-way contracts.
The Cavaliers used their 41st starting lineup, resting their entire rotation except for Max Strus and Tyson. Their core four of Donovan Mitchell, James Harden, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen took part in the fan appreciation night festivities.
With nothing tangible to play for, both teams chose to only dress nine players.
Carrington extended his consecutive game streak to 164. The University of Pittsburgh product is the first player to appear in every game in his first two seasons since Karl-Anthony Towns with the Minnesota Timberwolves from 2015-2017.
The Wizards slowly reduced their deficit throughout the third, getting as close as 95-93 on a Cooper 3-pointer with 1:26 left in the quarter. Proctor had 10 points in the fourth as the Cavaliers closed the door by outscoring Washington 31-22.
Carrington made back-to-back 3-pointers and tacked on a free throw in a personal 9-0 run to end the first half, pulling Washington within 65-55. He scored 12 points in the quarter, while Tyson led Cleveland with 14 and Tomlin had 13 at the break.
Tyson scored 11 points and Strus had eight in the first quarter, when the Cavaliers built a 25-point lead and were up 43-21. Watkins and Anthony Gill had seven points apiece for the Wizards.
Cleveland, which lost in the 2025 Eastern Conference semifinals to the Indiana Pacers, only has one injured player heading into the postseason. Center Thomas Bryant (left calf strain) is questionable, according to coach Kenny Atkinson.
The Cavaliers have won 16 straight over Washington, their second-longest streak in franchise history. Cleveland beat the Orlando Magic 17 consecutive times from 2013-17.
–Field Level Media
![Suryansh Shedge: Should have stayed longer because I was set Spending time in the middle was the mantra for Suryansh Shedge, whose 57 off 29 balls had temporarily seemed to have dragged Punjab Kings out of the woods on Sunday.The visitor eventually lost by four wickets against the Gujarat Titans, but Shedge, having waited for long to pounce on an opportunity, got much-needed gametime.“I wouldn’t say I was waiting. I was preparing. So, I look at it from that perspective that whenever I’m thrown into a situation, I should be ready for that. I’ve been speaking to Ricky [Ponting] sir a lot. I’ve been speaking to our captain a lot because I know him. The only thing they tell me is whenever the opportunity knocks, you have to be ready and take it with both hands. So that’s what I tried to do,” Shedge said.“It’s just sometimes some batters get good balls and they get out. But my only intention was to spend as much time as I could. And that, I think, made things easier as I progressed through the innings.”Despite being his side’s best batter and getting it to a competitive 163 on a two-paced wicket, Shedge took responsibility for the loss.“That 7.5-metre length was difficult to play. I think it was a bit two-paced because of the grass and the black soil. And I think at the end of the day, if we would have saved some runs here and there, we would have ended up winning the game. But I put my hand up. I think I should have stayed there because I was set. And if I would have let that ball go [from Kagiso Rabada], things would have been different,” Shedge said.Published on May 04, 2026 #Suryansh #Shedge #stayed #longer #set](https://i0.wp.com/ss-i.thgim.com/public/incoming/s7dydp/article70937916.ece/alternates/LANDSCAPE_1200/VIS_2885.JPG?ssl=1 "Suryansh Shedge: Should have stayed longer because I was set Spending time in the middle was the mantra for Suryansh Shedge, whose 57 off 29 balls had temporarily seemed to have dragged Punjab Kings out of the woods on Sunday.The visitor eventually lost by four wickets against the Gujarat Titans, but Shedge, having waited for long to pounce on an opportunity, got much-needed gametime.“I wouldn’t say I was waiting. I was preparing. So, I look at it from that perspective that whenever I’m thrown into a situation, I should be ready for that. I’ve been speaking to Ricky [Ponting] sir a lot. I’ve been speaking to our captain a lot because I know him. The only thing they tell me is whenever the opportunity knocks, you have to be ready and take it with both hands. So that’s what I tried to do,” Shedge said.“It’s just sometimes some batters get good balls and they get out. But my only intention was to spend as much time as I could. And that, I think, made things easier as I progressed through the innings.”Despite being his side’s best batter and getting it to a competitive 163 on a two-paced wicket, Shedge took responsibility for the loss.“That 7.5-metre length was difficult to play. I think it was a bit two-paced because of the grass and the black soil. And I think at the end of the day, if we would have saved some runs here and there, we would have ended up winning the game. But I put my hand up. I think I should have stayed there because I was set. And if I would have let that ball go [from Kagiso Rabada], things would have been different,” Shedge said.Published on May 04, 2026 #Suryansh #Shedge #stayed #longer #set")
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