Cavaliers throttled and humiliated by Warriors 132-98
BY STONE LEXINGTON
CAVALIERS BEAT WRITER
In It couldn’t get any worse for the Cleveland Cavaliers Monday night. The Golden State Warriors dismantled the Cavs in their own building with a 132-98 outcome on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The loss was just the Cavs’ second at Quicken Loans Arena this season, while most of the arena had emptied by the time the final horn sounded.
“We were obviously pleased with the way our guys played,” Warriors interim head coach and former Cavalier Luke Walton said.
The Cavs (28-11) returned to The Q Monday after a six-game road trip, on which Cleveland went 5-1 with the sole loss in San Antonio to the Spurs. The Spurs (36-6) and Warriors (38-4) have the two best records in the NBA, and the Cavs, who have the third-best record in the league, haven’t come close to beating either team this season. Monday night, the Warriors jumped on the Cavs early and put the game out of reach before the second half ever began.
Less than three minutes into the game, Golden State had a 12-2 lead, sparked by five points each from ‘Splash Brothers’ Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. Golden State held a 34-21 lead when the first quarter ended, but the scorching hot Warriors (62 percent shooting in the first quarter) were only warming up.
Matters got worse for Cleveland in the second quarter. When Warriors reserve Andre Iguodala threw down a wide open dunk with 5:52 left until halftime, Golden State’s lead ballooned to 20 points, 52-32. When Thompson sank two free throws with 1:15 remaining in the second quarter, the Warriors lead increased to 30 points, 67-37. The 30-point deficit was Cleveland’s largest in a first half this season. The Cavs trailed 70-44 at halftime, and the contest was essentially over before the second half ever commenced.
“They were absolutely phenomenal tonight,” Walton said of the Warriors. “Defensively, offensively, sharing the ball, everyone being engaged, taking care of the ball. We only had eight turnovers tonight and over 30 assists. We can’t really ask to play much better than that.”
LeBron James, who has dominated against the Warriors in his career, was far from dominating Monday. In 28 career regular season and postseason games against Golden State, James had averaged 30.4 points, 9.3 rebounds and 7.8 assists per game. James had scored at least 20 points against the Warriors in 27 of his last 28 contests. Monday night, James totaled just 16 points, five rebounds and five assists in 33 minutes. None of the Cavs starters played in the fourth quarter (J.R. Smith was ejected in the third quarter).
The Cavs have no shot at beating the Warriors if their offense isn’t clicking and their ‘Big 3’ isn’t productive. Cleveland power forward Kevin Love was a disaster Monday, scoring just three points (1-of-5 from the field) in 21 minutes. Love’s only points came via a three-pointer with less than a minute remaining in the first half. Kyrie Irving scored just eight points on 3-of-11 shooting.
The Cavs have been great against most of the Western Conference opponents they’ve recently faced (not named San Antonio or Golden State). Cleveland entered Monday with a 23-5 record in their last 28 games against the West, while also riding an 11-game win streak over the West at The Q.
The Cavs also entered Monday’s matchup with Golden State as one of the better defensive teams in the league, allowing the 2nd-lowest scoring average at 95.1 points per game. The Warriors had 104 points by the end of the third quarter, while Cleveland had just 67 points heading into the fourth. As impressive as the Warriors offense was Monday night, their defense was even more impressive. Golden State frustrated the Cavs the entire evening, forcing Cleveland to commit 16 turnovers.
Curry led Golden State with 35 points, five rebounds and four assists. Iguodala added 20 points and five assists off the Warriors bench.
The Cavs will likely play in the NBA Finals in June, but if they happen to meet the Warriors or Spurs, they haven’t proven they can beat either team once they get there. The Cavs lost the season series to Golden State 0-2, and have one more meeting with the Spurs on Jan. 30 at The Q. At least that game won’t be as ugly as Monday night’s contest with the Warriors was. For the Cavs’ sake, let’s hope not
POSTED 01/18/2016 23:44
Lake County Sentinel
Photo by Tim Phillis (TCP Photography)