CLEVELAND _ The bounce pass by Cleveland rookie Darius Garland was too low and too far away to reach teammate Andre Drummond on Sunday night.
But for Marcus Morris, it was right on target.
Three days after Morris was acquired by the Los Angeles Clippers from the New York Knicks in a trade just ahead of the league's deadline, he sprinted upcourt with the steal and double-pumped the ball for a breakaway dunk. His teammates leapt out of their seats to celebrate Morris' first highlight as a Clipper _ and one of many for the night.
In a wire-to-wire 133-92 blowout victory, the Clippers dealt the Cavaliers their 12th consecutive defeat at Rocket Mortgage Field House in ignominious fashion, the largest margin of defeat at home in Cavaliers history. Los Angeles appeared to be an entirely different team than the one that committed what coach Doc Rivers called an "awful effort" in a blowout loss in Minnesota only 24 hours earlier.
They were crisp from the start, as center Ivica Zubac had two baskets, a block, an assist and a screen that freed Paul George for a midrange jump shot all within the first three minutes. George took over from there, scoring 19 points in his first 14 minutes before finishing with 22 in 31 minutes, often on isolations or step-backs.
Lou Williams scored a team-high 25 points.
Morris scored 10 points with four rebounds, three steals, two assists and one turnover in his debut for the Clippers (37-16). Though he'd made 44% of his three-pointers with New York before the trade, he missed all four of his three-point attempts Sunday. Instead, the bulk of his production came on four midrange jumpers. They included his first basket as a Clipper, which came at the right elbow of the free-throw line, after using a screen from Zubac.
"Just because you change uniforms you shouldn't change, so (Morris) will be pretty good for us," Rivers said before tipoff. "We like all the things he can do. You know it's tough for him, he doesn't know all of the stuff, but he'll figure it out."
Sunday also marked the Cavaliers (13-40) debut of center Andre Drummond, acquired Thursday in a trade with Detroit. Drummond finished with 19 points, including two three-pointers, and 14 rebounds.
The Clippers shot 56% and held the Cavaliers to 36% shooting despite playing without Kawhi Leonard, who rested on the second night of a back-to-back, and Patrick Beverley, whose injured groin has kept him from joining his team midway through its four-game road trip before the All-Star break. The Clippers were 1-4 entering Sunday when both sat, but their absences against the Cavaliers did not lead to the same level of trouble.
Using their 25th different starting lineup this season, the Clippers led by 15 points after one quarter. Though they have been prone to letting double-digit leads slip away this season, the Clippers did not experience a drop-off when George checked out for the first time with 3:31 to play in the first quarter and his team up 12. When he checked in again, the Clippers' lead was 18 and grew to 23 by halftime.
Minnesota blitzed the Clippers for 26 three-pointers but Cleveland didn't come close to replicating such a performance, making only seven of its 33 shots from deep.
