CLEVELAND – Darius Garland scored 24 points and Jarrett Allen had 21 points and 11 rebounds as the NBA-leading Cleveland Cavaliers defeated Washington 115-105 on Friday night, handing the Wizards their 18th loss in 19 games.

Donovan Mitchell scored 20 points and Garland added eight assists for Cleveland, which is 22-4 and 1 1/2 games ahead of Boston for the best record in the league. The Cavaliers, who lead the NBA in field goal percentage, shot a season-low 39.6%.

Caris LeVert had 14 points and six assists and Isaac Okoro scored 13 points. Cleveland went 15 of 51 on 3-pointers.

Bilal Coulibaly scored a career-high 27 points and Jordan Poole scored 17 for the Wizards. Justin Champagnie had 16 points and eight rebounds as Washington fell to a league-worst record of 3-20.

Takeaways

Wizards: Alex Sarr, the No. 2 overall draft pick, returned after missing two games with a sore lower back and made his first five shots, including a 3-pointer. The 7-footer from France finished the game with 14 points and seven rebounds in 27 minutes.

Cavaliers: Power forward Evan Mobley, who is averaging 18.3 points and 9.1 rebounds, sprained his left ankle in the previous game at Miami and did not play. Coach Kenny Atkinson said he wasn’t worried the injury was “a long-term thing.”

Key moment

LeVert scored four points and absorbed a flagrant foul from Poole during a 7-0 run by the Cavaliers that bridged the third and fourth quarters and ultimately gave them breathing room with an 89-80 lead.

Important statistics

Cleveland improved to 14-1 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse this season, the second-best home record in the NBA behind undefeated Orlando. The Cavaliers also defeated Washington for the 11th straight time, their longest streak in the 55-year series.

Next

The Wizards host Boston on Sunday and the Cavaliers visit Brooklyn on Monday.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA