The Cavaliers held their own through the first half tonight, leading at the intermission by one, but the second half belonged to Washington, as the Wizards, behind five players in double figures, improved to 2-0 in the exhibition season with a 97-83 win over Cleveland (1-1).
Yi Jianlian led the way for Washington with 16, while Kentucky rookie John Wall chipped in with a dozen in a game in which neither team shot well. Washington finished at just 40% from the floor, but that was enough to beat the 35% shooting of the Cavaliers.
Cleveland was led by J.J. Hickson’s 16, while Leon Powe, Ramon Sessions and Daniel Gibson each tallied ten points.
Cleveland is off until Sunday, when they take on the Houston Rockets in the first game of a back-to-back in the Lone Star State that will continue against the Mavericks on Monday.