With less than five minutes to play, Cleveland had the game in hand but suffered a fatal 19-6, to chain a third straight loss in this end of “road trip” in the West.
In the wake of a Draymond Green in the oven and the mill and an aggressive Stephen Curry towards the circle, the Warriors started the game well but ten points from Donovan Mitchell kept the Cavs in contact. If Steve Kerr tightens his rotation by alternating between Green and Looney in position 5, the two minutes without Curry and Green lead to four loss of balls (25-25).
Two award-winning shots from Kevin Love and a still patient Donovan Mitchell at the start of the second quarter allowed Cleveland to take control of operations (38-32). Golden State clings, however, thanks to a more bleeding Jordan Poole and the return of the Curry / Green pair. Despite two technical fouls to Draymond Green and Steve Kerr, and Curry watching the end of the half on the bench with three fouls, the Warriors manage to limit the damage. A superb pass from Mitchell for LeVert at 3-pointers in the corner gives Cleveland a 4-point lead at the buzzer (52-48).
As at the start of the match, behind the energy of Draymond Green and his desire to push the pace, the Warriors began the third quarter with a 7-0 (55-52). The Cavs then keep their cool and take out the blue heater. The Evan Mobley – Jarrett Allen – Darius Garland trio takes matters into their own hands and punishes Golden State with several offensive rebounds to pass them a 14-0 and a tear drop from Donovan Mitchell gives Cleveland up to 11 points. (66-55)! Steve Kerr then opts for a 2-3 zone to break the rhythm of the Cavs and it works. They only scored 5 points in the last four minutes of the period as four straight 3-pointers from Curry, Lamb and Poole put the Warriors back in the game (77-74).
Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole even allow the Warriors to come back in front to offer us an attractive “money time” (83-81). The fate then goes after Golden State. A 3-pointer from Mitchell turns into a 3+1 because of a questionable foul by Draymond Green on the rebound on Evan Mobley. In the process, Jordan Poole receives a deserved flagrant foul on a 3 + 1 from Caris LeVert. And finally, the Warriors take a technical foul for a second “delay of game”, giving Cleveland an 8-point lead (95-87)!
The Warriors, however, refuse to abdicate. Five points from Curry and a winning shot from Klay Thompson bring them down to -1 with less than three minutes to play (96-95). Both defenses harden. Donovan Mitchell keeps the Cavs ahead on two free throws but a winning shot from Curry, followed by two saves, and a layup on the counterattack from the two-time MVP give Golden State a two-point lead with 54 seconds left. (100-98)! He will add a winning shot and two free throws to seal the victory for his team.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– Draymond Green sets the tone. The power winger freely admits that he sometimes struggles to motivate himself for regular season games, but when a tough opponent comes his way, the Warriors handyman responds (almost) always there . For the reception of the Cavs, third in the East, he lived up to his reputation. From the start of the game, his defensive intensity put Golden State on the right track. He also pushed the ball as soon as possible to set the pace and find his partners. Draymond Green kept this sacred fire throughout the meeting.
– Evan Mobley’s yard near the circle. Discreet at the start of the match, Evan Mobley slowly but surely took control of the rebound. He took three offenses in the second quarter and four in the third. It was his activity on both sides of the field that also allowed the Cavs to pass a 14-0 to the Warriors to take an eleven-point lead in the middle of the third quarter time. His dissuasive presence in the key had also closed access to the circle for the Warriors in the third period, when they had scored half of their points there in the first half. Faced with Warriors who have often played with a single interior, Evan Mobley took advantage of it to put his mark on the meeting.
– Golden State’s Decisive 19-6. At -8 with 4 minutes and 33 seconds to play and when they had just suffered a 3 + 1, a flagrant foul, and a technical foul, the Warriors regained their champion heart, their defense and the magic of Stephen Curry to get out of a very compromised situation. In the wake of the Draymond Green – Kevon Looney duo, they limited the Cavs to six points while Stephen Curry scored 13 of his team’s last 19 points to claim a landmark victory.
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ Stephen Curry. Sparkling since the start of the season, the double MVP outbid this night by scoring 40 points at 15/23 on shots and 6/11 from afar, including 15 points in the last quarter to give victory to his team. He also scored a 3-pointer for his 200th straight regular season game.
✅ Draymond Green. In the oven and in the mill throughout the game, he finished with 13 assists and 10 rebounds and left his mark on the game from the first minutes.
✅ Andrew Wiggins – Jordan Poole – Kevon Looney. In sawtooth since the start of the season, Andrew Wiggins (20 points) and Jordan Poole (18 points) responded this night. Kevon Looney was equal to himself and solid as a rock late in the game.
✅ Donovan Mitchell. The rear of the Cavs came close to the triple-double (29 points, 10 rebounds, 9 assists). Efficient and patient throughout the game, he was however unable to stop his team’s shortage at the end of the match.
✅ Evan Mobley. As described above, Evan Mobley (20 points, 12 rebounds) was brilliant but was muzzled by the Green-Looney pair late in the game.
✅ ⛔Darius Garland. The Cleveland point guard blew hot (15 points, 8 assists) and cold (5/19 shots) throughout the game against the good defense of the Warriors.
⛔ Klay Thompson. The ordeal of the “Splash Brother” continues. He finished 3 of 13 on shots with plenty of open shots. He managed to put his frustration aside in the final minutes, however, to defend hard.
THE FOLLOWING
Golden State (5-7) : The Warriors meet the Kings tomorrow night, for the third time this season…
Cleveland (8-4): return to Ohio for the reunion between Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert on Sunday
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzfzCbd0rxA
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