by Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors had a tough fight on their hands Thursday night as they tipped off against the red-hot Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs had were 17-2 before the start of play and had won 10 straight at home. They also had won 9 straight against Western Conference foes and they made it 10 in a row by defeating the Warriors 110-99.

The Warriors were going to have to find a way to shut down the big frontline of the Cavs if they were to win.

LeBron James, four-time MVP of the NBA, was a force to contend with all night. James was superb as he bullied his way through traffic to score. James ended up with forty-two points, his 55th 40 point or more game in his career. He was helped out by Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, Timofey Mozgov and Tristan Thompson.

The first period was very close as the Warriors and Cavs played a very fast uptempo game that ended with the score at 33-32. The Cavs pulled away late in the second period to have a 61-56 lead at the half. The Cavs’ frontline was plus 6
in points scored and plus 10 in rebounds but the Dubs backcourt was plus 1 in points and plus 3 in assists.There were 8 ties and 12 lead changes in the first half.
Lebron James led the Cavs scoring with 24 points while Steph Curry had 14 and David Lee added 13 coming off the bench.

It was still a close game after the first four minutes of play in the third period.
Cleveland then went on a 16-3 run to put them up by 14 and they kept the pressure on the Warriors as the W’s never were able to make a comeback in either the third or fourth periods.

LeBron James did it all.He scored 42 points, rebounded, made two key steals late in the game and was just a force that was unstoppable. Kyrie Irving added 24 points and Kevin Love pitched in with 16. Timofey Mozgov had 10 and Tristan Thompson had 12 for Cleveland. David Lee led the W’s with 19. Steph Curry had 18, Klay Thompson,13 and Draymond Green ended the night with 16.

The W’s shot just 42.6% from the field opposed to the Cavs 46.8%. One huge difference was at the free throw line. Cleveland was 29 for 35 while the Dubs were just 10 for 19. The nineteen-point differential in made free throws won the game for Cleveland. The Cavs also outrebounded Golden State 51-44 and had a 43-30 advantage on the defensive boards

The Warriors are now 44-11 for the season and the Cavs record improves to 37-22 and they have now won10 straight against Western Conference teams.

The Warriors travel to Toronto to play the Raptors Friday night

—
Jerry Feitelberg
jyf1938