Dribbles: Cavs fall to hot hands of Clippers, but this is how it sometimes goes on road in March

Random dribbles following the Cavaliers’ toughie of a 132-119 road loss to the Clippers late Tuesday night …

1. For one of the few times this season, the Cavs have lost two straight. It took some late-game struggles and the Clippers playing out of their minds. But the Cavs sure didn’t help themselves in the second half.

2. To give you an idea of just how hot the Clippers were, the Cavs scored 73 points by halftime … and only led by five.

3. This loss really was the product of a stretch in the third and fourth quarters in which Los Angeles went on a 20-3 run. The Cavs couldn’t get anything to fall. Or a stop.

4. Keep in mind that the Clippers are fighting for their playoff lives. The Cavs (56-12) recently won 16 straight. They’re allowed a couple of losses here and there.

5. And they took one on this night — as the Clippers shot a sizzling 55 percent. Some of that was the Cavs’ fault. Much of it they could do nothing about.

6. Either way, as my Full Court Cleveland partner Daniel “Booby” Gibson said on Cavaliers Live, “Don’t panic. Trust each other. I think we learn a little bit more during these losses.”

7. Booby should know. He’s been in the locker room of a Cavs team that reached the Finals. He’s right, too. There’s certainly no panic for the men currently in uniform.

8. Another thing to remember? Coach Kenny Atkinson could’ve veered from his rotation when things started slipping away. But he stayed composed, stuck with it. This isn’t a “win at all costs” time of year. It’s about staying healthy, stealing a couple on this trip, and shoring up any issues before the playoffs.

9. Atkinson to reporters on the loss: “They played great. Elite shot-making performance by them. Poor defensive performance by us. We didn’t do the little things and weren’t disciplined on the margins. Just gotta be better.”

10. Atkinson added that the Clippers “ramped up their physicality” in the second half. The Cavaliers, clearly, did not handle it well.

11. An example of that: LA won the battle of the boards by a whopping 49-29 count. “That’s on us,” Atkinson said. “They were the hit-first team tonight.”

12. Max Strus was outstanding most of the night, scoring 24 points on 8-of-12 shooting. That included 5-of-8 on 3-pointers. Donovan Mitchell added 18 and 11 assists, but was just 5-of-18 shooting. Don’t worry. He’ll find it. You don’t need to be first-team All-NBA in March.

13. Darius Garland added 17 points and eight assists and once again was pretty good all-around. Evan Mobley and De’Andre Hunter also scored 17 apiece, Hunter doing it on 7-of-10 shooting (Mobley was 7-of-12). Ty Jerome tacked on 10 points and Jarrett Allen had eight points to go with eight rebounds.

14. But the Cavs have to do a better job on the boards or this will be a long and painful trip. They’ll be the first to tell you they know that.

15. The Clippers (39-30) were paced by their usual stars. Kawhi Leonard scored a game-high 33 and Ivica Zubac dominated the inside with 28 points and 20 rebounds. It felt more like 50 of each.

16. James Harden scored 22 and Bogdan Bogdanovic went for 20, burying each of his eight shots. You could argue that Bogdanovic’s unlikely performance is why the Clippers won.

17. On top of everything else, the Cavaliers left way too many points at the free-throw line. They finished just 17-of-26 on foul shots.

18. But hey, no time to pout. Cleveland hopped on a plane immediately after the game and headed to Sacramento. Tip-off against the Kings is set for Wednesday at 10 p.m. EST. This is the NBA and there’s always another game. In case you missed it, star center Domantas Sabonis is out with an ankle sprain.

19. Atkinson with the final word: “This isn’t a bad thing for us. We’ve had such a great season. This (trip) will test our mettle a little bit. I expect us to bounce back.”

• Box Score | Clippers 132, Cavs 119
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