Well, that was fun.
There aren’t many NBA games that take place before the month of April loaded with storylines and future implications, but when the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers come together, it’s an absolute delight.
While the teams battled through three relatively even quarters on Monday, the Warriors proved in the final 12 minutes that they were the side with more depth, more firepower and more margin for error in a 118-108 victory.
After the Warriors took down the Cavaliers 99-92 in a Christmas Day game that featured two Kevin Durant defensive stops against LeBron James in the final 90 seconds, the two sides returned to the floor in Cleveland on Monday and this time, each team had its point guard. On December 25, Warriors’ star Steph Curry was sidelined due to an ankle sprain while the Cavaliers’ high-profile offseason acquisition, Isaiah Thomas, had yet to make his debut thanks to a hip injury. While the holiday matchup offered viewers a preview of how the two squads stack up against one another this season, the absence of two of the NBA’s most dynamic scorers was at the front of everyone’s mind.
On Monday, Curry outshined Thomas, turning in a more efficient night from the floor and finishing with a superior plus-minus (+13 vs. -9) in his minutes. The Warriors’ sharpshooter drilled four three-pointers, including a step-back triple that pulled Golden State within two points midway through the second quarter when James was switched onto him.
Steph just broke off Lebron and hit him with the #StephBack pic.twitter.com/WxGiQZMyco
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) January 16, 2018
Though having Curry on the court was critical for the Warriors, it was Durant who prevented Cleveland from running away with the game early. As Warriors’ forward Draymond Green struggled to provide the impact Golden State is accustomed to receiving from him, Durant stepped up his energy with several early dunks. On one first quarter fastbreak, Durant caught a pass in transition and soared above James to flush home an emphatic dunk.
Durant’s efforts kept the Warriors within eight points at halftime, and after the break, the 7-foot forward scored 16 points in the third quarter to help push Golden State ahead by one entering the final frame.
😱😱😱 KD with the FLUSH over Lebron pic.twitter.com/9cp4C8bV3G
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) January 16, 2018
Following a dismal second quarter outing, the Warriors’ second unit offered up an impressive burst at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Led by David West –who swatted James and drove in for a one-handed dunk, Golden State embarked on a 10-2 run and opened up a 10-point advantage midway through the fourth quarter.
Despite a late effort from Cleveland to cut into the Warriors’ deficit, Golden State prevented the Cavaliers from clawing back into the contest. The advantage the Warriors’ second unit built up at the beginning of the fourth quarter was too much to overcome, especially for a Golden State team that received a more complete effort from its stars in the second half.
That strong Durant first half? He was better in the second, leading the third quarter charge before nailing a late three-pointer in the fourth quarter. That slow start from Green? He finished with 11 points, nine assists and a game-high 16 rebounds for a Warriors’ team that wound up winning the game on the boards. Finally, that rough center play? After awarding rookie Jordan Bell the start over Zaza Pachulia against a Cavs’ team Pachulia doesn’t match up well against, head coach Steve Kerr stuck with a combination of West and Green to thwart Cleveland’s small ball tactics. As they did last summer in the Warriors’ five-game NBA Finals victory, the adjustments Golden State made on Monday worked as well as they could have hoped.
