CLEVELAND — Kenny Atkinson didn’t have to search very hard for points the Cavaliers could have used Monday night.
They left 10 of them at the free-throw line in a 117-112 home loss to the Thunder. The Cavs had enough offense to give themselves a chance, but going 14-of-24 on uncontested shots made everything else more difficult.
“That’s a reason you lose,” Atkinson said. “Keep working on your free throws, get extra ones up. We do it during practice. We shoot pressure free throws. It’s part of our diet. You leave 10 points on the board like that, yeah, it’s tough.”
Donovan Mitchell and James Harden combined to go 2-of-7 from the line. Both helped the Cavs in other areas, with Mitchell finishing with 17 points and 11 assists. But in a game that stayed close until the final seconds, those were opportunities the Cavs couldn’t afford to waste.
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Neither were the extra possessions they gave Oklahoma City. The Thunder collected 15 offensive rebounds, extending possessions for a team already getting a monster night from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
“Giving them second chance after second chance, it kind of demoralizes your defense,” Atkinson said. “That’s why everybody’s doing it. Everyone’s crashing (the glass).”
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 43 points and hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 32.6 seconds left. The Thunder were missing Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams, Cason Wallace and Alex Caruso, but Atkinson wasn’t buying the idea that their available players should have been easy to handle.
“Even with their absences, you’re playing obviously a great player and a great team and a great program,” he said. “They’re kind of like the old Spurs teams, it doesn’t matter who’s out. They can still kick your tail like they did tonight. They’re so deep. They got so many guys.”
Atkinson also included himself among those who needed to be better. The Cavs trailed 59-48 at halftime before working their way back into the game.
“From our perspective, I don’t think we took them lightly,” he said. “We just didn’t play well in the first half. I put out some lineups out there that I wasn’t thrilled with and we’re obviously trying to test guys and play guys, so got to look at that and got to be better.”
The Cavs fell to 4-3 and face the Thunder again Wednesday in Oklahoma City. There’s little mystery about two things that need to improve before then. Finish defensive possessions with a rebound. Make the free throws.
They’re already practicing both. Monday was another reminder that the work has to carry into games.
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