Cavaliers manhandle full strength Warriors 136-117

BY TIM SHIRER

CAVALIERS BEAT WRITER

(CLEVELAND, OH) - Friday night at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse the undefeated 9-0 Cleveland Cavaliers welcomed their old rival the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors came into the contest 7-1 and 5-0 on the road. The game was expected to be a battle of the two NBA heavyweights and it was anything but as the Cavs at one point led by 41 points in the Cavs 136-117 blowout of the visiting Warriors.

With just 1:58 off the first quarter clock the Cavs jumped out to a 10-2 lead capped off by a three by Darius Garland. The lead was extended to 13-2 after Donovan Mitchell hit a three from the top of the arc with 9:14 left in the opening quarter. The Cavs’ lead increased even further with 8:42 left when Evan Mobley was fouled and hit both free throws giving Cleveland a 15-2 lead. The Cavs run continued and with 7:33 left in the first quarter the Cavs were up 20-2. With 1:54 left in the quarter the Cavs defense was stifling the Warriors high powered offense allowing them only 16 points to that point. Golden State was shooting 35% (7 of 20) from the field and had turned the ball over four times resulting in a Cavs 33-16 lead. With :37.9 left in the period the Cavs took a 20 point lead 39-19 when Georges Niang drain a three. The quarter ended with the Cavs on top 39-22. The Warriors Jonathan Kuminga led all scorers with nine first quarter points. Mobley paced the Cavs with eight. The Cavs played eight men in the first quarter and all eight scored. The Cavs shot 67% (12 of 18) from the field in the quarter while the Warriors shot 41% (9 of 22). The Cavs were on fire from long range as they hit 7 of 10 three point baskets.

The Cavs continued to build their lead and with 9:14 left in the first half Dean Wade scored his first point since missing two games with illness hitting a three and giving the Cavs a 48-24 lead. Then with 7:52 left the Cavs lead was 55-27 after Isaac Okoro drained a three on an assist from Wade. The lead became enormous with 6:16 left when Ty Jerom got in on the fun and drained a three giving the Cavs a 60-30 advantage. Things kept getting worse for the helpless Warriors as the Cavs took a 68-34 lead with 5:09 left in the opening half when Jerome drained another three against his former club. Former Cavalier and current Warriors coach Steve Kerr then took a timeout to calm his stunned team. With 2:30 left on the clock in the first half the Warriors were looking like a wounded animal as the Cavs took a 78-38 lead on a three from Caris LeVert. The Cavs to that point had made 14 of 21 three point shots. After a Warriors turnover LeVert hit Garland under the basket and the Cavs lead was 83-42 at halftime. Kuminga led all scorers with 14 at halftime. Okoro and Jerome paced the Cavs with 13 apiece. The Cavs had four players in double figures. The Cavs shot 65% (28 of 43) from the field in the opening half and 64% (14 of 22) from long range. The Cleveland defense forced 13 Warriors turnover resulting in 15 Cavs points. The Cavs dominated every phase of the game including on the boards as they outrebounded the Warriors 25 to 13. Another big factor that often goes the Warriors way, but went in favor of the Cavs in the first half was free throw shooting. The Cavs shot 13 of 16 from the charity stripe in the first 24 minutes while the Warriors shot only eight free throws, converting just five.

Three minutes into the third quarter the Warriors had trimmed the Cavs lead to 36 at 91-55 and Cavs bench boss and former Warrior’s assistant had seen enough and called a timeout with 8:23 remaining on the clock. The Warriors continued to trim the Cavs lead until the Cavs led by only 35 at 104-69 with 4:14 left after the son of former Cavs sharpshooter Del Curry, Steph hit a layup. The Warriors cut the Cavs’ lead to 29 at the end of the third quarter with Cleveland leading 112-83. Kuminga continued to lead everyone in scoring with 21 points. Garland led the Cavs with 19. The Cavs had six players in double figures in scoring entering the fourth. Jarrett Allen already had a double double with 10 rebounds and 11 points. The Warriors outscored the Cavs 41-29 in the third.

With 9:45 left in the fourth quarter Golden had trimmed the Cleveland lead to 115-91 and Atkinson had seen enough and took a timeout to thwart the Golden State momentum. Immediately after a Cavs timeout Cleveland turned the ball over on a five second violation. Two possessions later the Warriors cut the Cleveland lead to 20 at 117-97 with 7:53 remaining in the contest. With 6:29 left the Warriors made things very interesting cutting the Cavs lead to 119-101. The Cavs built the lead back over 20 points at 123-101 with 6:02 when Jerome drained two free throws after Kyle Anderson fouled him in the paint. With 3:55 remaining any thought of a miracle Warriors comeback ended when Garland hit a three putting the Cavs on top 128-103 and after a Warriors miss Garland hit again extending the Cleveland lead to 131-103 with 3:35 remaining. With 3:26 left the Cavs made mass substitutions and when the buzzer sounded the Cavs remained undefeated with a 136-117.

The Cavs had 11 players score in the blowout win. Garland led everyone with 27 points. Mobley had 23 and Jerome had 20. Kuminga led Golden State in a losing effort with 21 points. Cleveland had six players score in double figures including Allen who had 13 points and 12 rebounds to notch another double double.

Cleveland ended up shooting 54% (46 of 86) in the game but went cold for most of the second half shooting on 42% (18 of 43). Meanwhile the Warriors shot 48% (47 of 98) in the game but found their shot in the second half shooting 51% (31 of 59), but it was too little too late.

The Cavs will be back in action on Saturday night and try to move to 11-0 as they host the visiting Brooklyn Nets at 7:30 pm. The Cavs lead the all-time series 110-85. They also have the edge when playing at home (Richfield Coliseum, RMFH)..

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POSTED 11/08/2024 22:18

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