The Cavaliers had not yet won at home this season, and they have now done so! JB Bickerstaff’s men took control of the game behind a defense that limited Golden State to 18.5% shooting in the second quarter, without conceding a single basket for eight minutes! At the same time, the duo Donovan Mitchell (31 points, 7 assists) – Darius Garland (24 points, 7 assists) scored 18 of his team’s last 19 points to give a 12-point lead at the break and make the break ( 57-45).
Like Stephen Curry (28 points, 7/11 3-pointers), who is riding his fantastic start to the season, the Warriors were skillful from afar (16 3-pointers scored, at 39% success rate) but they couldn’t do anything inside the 3-point line. Dominated by Cleveland’s size and their defensive intensity, they only scored 24 points in the paint at a 37% success rate while the Cavs scored 58 points!
Remember Christmas 2016…
In the wake of Evan Mobley (13 points, 16 rebounds), the Cavaliers dominated the rebound battle (54-44) but also used their defense to push in transition and punish their opponent with 26 points on the counterattack. Draymond Green (18 points, 8 assists) and Jonathan Kuminga (15 points) tried to revive their team in the last quarter (93-88), but Max Strus, Evan Mobley, and Darius Garland responded with an 11-4 to confirm their victory.
This is the Cavaliers’ first regular season victory against the Warriors since the 2016 “Christmas Game”!
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– The Cleveland Wall. Facing the “small” Warriors, the Cavaliers played to their strengths, namely their size and their defense. They only blocked two shots but they tried hard not to give anything easy to their opponent. The Warriors had a hard time beating their opponent to attack the circle, and when they managed to get into the paint, the pair Evan Mobley – Jarrett Allen acted as the welcoming committee. The Cavaliers limited Golden State to 13/35 within 4 yards of the circle, and 5/18 from mid-range. Steve Kerr’s men were never able to get their game going and never found their rhythm. A real tour de force from the Cavaliers after the Warriors had just scored 141 points two days ago in Oklahoma City.
– Stephen Curry on a cloud. Despite his team’s defeat, Stephen Curry is incandescent at the start of the season. After seven games, including five away, he is averaging 30.4 points per game on 54% shooting and 49% from 3-point range! The Warriors star already has 40 3-pointers scored this season, which is an NBA record after seven games. He has scored at least 4 penalty shots in every game this season, and more than 5 in four games. If he continues this momentum, he should explode his NBA record of 402 3-pointers scored during the 2015-2016 season.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D=defensive rebound; T = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Pts = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
