CLEVELAND — Andre Drummond had 19 points and 14 rebounds in his Cleveland debut, but the optimism following the addition of the star center was quickly dashed.
The Cavaliers were routed 133-92 by the Los Angeles Clippers for their worst home defeat in franchise history. Cleveland's previous worst was a 39-point loss to Chicago in 2012.
Lou Williams led the way with 25 points and the Los Angeles Clippers didn't need star forward Kawhi Leonard, who was out with a sore left knee.
"We’re not looking at the scoreboard," Drummond said after the loss. "I said it when I first got here in the locker room. I don’t care about the record. I don’t care about the scoreboard. I just care about, did we get better today? My goal is to push these guys and keep them positive, continue to work hard and show no quit on this season."
The Cavs are celebrating their 50th season in the NBA, and just four years ago won their first-ever league championship. However, they now own the Eastern Conference's worst record at 13-40, including 3-18 since the start of 2020.
"We were not good and way out of sync in so many ways," head coach John Beilein. "While it’s not acceptable to us, it’s understandable given the new dynamic of our team. So coaches will meet again tomorrow and we will try to get some better symmetry on it."
The Cavs will be back at it Wednesday night when they host the Atlanta Hawks at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.