CLEVELAND _ Cedi Osman continued his scoring surge and the Cavaliers outlasted the Washington Wizards, 116-113, on Tuesday night at Quicken Loans Arena for their second consecutive win.
It marked just the second time this season the Cavs have won back-to-back games, the first coming with wins over the Philadelphia 76ers and Houston Rockets on Nov. 23 and No. 24, respectively. The Cavs have yet to win three in a row this season.
Osman finished with 26 points, the third time in his last four games he's scored at least 25 points after having never previously scored 25 in a game. He also contributed five rebounds, seven assists and came away with the game-clinching steal.
Jordan Clarkson totaled a team-high 28 points off the bench to go with five rebounds and two assists. Larry Nance Jr. (13 points, 11 rebounds) and Ante Zizic (12 points, 12 rebounds) each finished with double-doubles, and Collin Sexton (12 points) and Matthew Dellavedova (10 points) each scored in double figures.
The Cavs (11-41) dominated the third quarter but allowed the Wizards (21-29) to have a shot to tie it late in the fourth.
After leading 53-48 at halftime, the Cavs outscored the Wizards 35-22 in the third quarter, highlighted by Osman's 14 points.
Shortly after drilling a 3-pointer, Osman was fouled attempting another 3 midway through the quarter. He made the middle attempt and missed the final try, but Alec Burks grabbed the rebound, sprinted to the corner and buried a 3-pointer to complete a four-point possession and push the Cavs' lead to 74-57, their largest of the night to that point.
Later in the quarter, Clarkson and Dellavedova nailed back-to-back 3-pointers before Nance finished an alley-oop from Osman a few minutes later to make it 86-65.
The Wizards made it interesting late in the fourth quarter, coming to within one shot of tying it. With the Wizards chipping away, Jordan McRae buried a 3-pointer and Troy Brown Jr. quickly followed with a layup to make it 115-108 with 35 seconds left. Sexton was fouled and missed both free throws, which led to another 3-pointer by McRae, cutting the lead to 115-111.
Clarkson was fouled and split his fee-throw attempts. Again came McRae, who drew a foul and made both attempts to make it a one-possession game.
The Cavs struggled to advance the ball beyond half court, and Osman then missed two free-throw attempts with 11.1 seconds remaining to give the Wizards possession with a chance to tie it.
But that potential tying shot attempt never happened. After the inbounds pass, Osman knocked the ball away to secure the Cavs' second consecutive win.
