The Cleveland Cavaliers now own the NBA Record for consecutive losses in a season. The question now becomes how many games the historic streak will reach before the Cavaliers find a way to win a game. Their quest for a win heads to Dallas tonight to face the Mavericks - a tall task to be sure.
The Cavaliers have played better of late - relatively speaking. After going 4 games without having a lead, Cleveland had 2nd half leads in their last three games - against Indiana, Memphis and Portland - and have been pretty competitive.
The Cavaliers established a new low with their NBA-record 24th consecutive loss on Saturday against Portland, breaking the old mark of 23 straight defeats held previously by the 1995-96 Grizzlies and 1997-98 Nuggets. In the loss to the Blazers, Antawn Jamison led seven players in double figures with 17 points and Ramon Sessions added 15.
Jamario Moon finished with 14 points, Christian Eyenga, Daniel Gibson and Manny Harris had 12 points apiece and J.J. Hickson ended with 11 points for the Cavs, who have lost 10 straight at home and are 5-17 as the host.
"It's not a matter of if we're going to win, it's when. We've just got to keep playing that hard," Cavs head coach Byron Scott said.
Cleveland hasn't tasted victory since beating New York in overtime on Dec. 18. The Cavs are on the road now and their last win away from Quicken Loans Arena was on Nov. 9 versus New Jersey, having lost 25 in a row as the guest. They dropped 19 in a row to close out the 1981-82 season and went on to lose the first five in 1982-83 for a team-worst 24-game skid.
The Mavericks come into the game at 35-15, having another stellar season behind Dirk Nowitzki. Even with LeBron James in Cleveland, the Mavericks have dominated the Cavaliers, winning 14 of the last 20 meetings between the teams.