Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garlund (10) drives against Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga (00) at Rocket Mortgage Arena Cleveland on Sun Nov 5, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers (3-4) were too much to handle for Golden State (5-2). The Warriors shot just over 35% for much of the game falling by the score of 115-104.

Sunday the Warriors took on the Cavaliers in Cleveland at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse looking to keep their road record unblemished. Their only loss was their season opener losing to the Phoenix Suns 108-104.

The Warriors did win the opening quarter by a single point 30-29. The Cavaliers were already presenting problems. Cleveland took over the second quarter winning it 28-15 and taking a 57-45 lead into the locker room at halftime. Golden State had offensive problems in the second quarter missing a lot of shots and only shooting at 32% to Cleveland’s 48%.

The Warriors turned it around a bit in the third quarter but continued to shoot around 31% and trail 79-73 with under three minutes left in the quarter. They had cut the Cleveland lead and despite shooting poorly were still hanging around in this game.

The fourth quarter was almost upon the teams and when it comes to fourth quarters and the Golden State Warriors all bets are off. They exceled in finishing off opponents in the fourth quarter despite the score they are facing.

After three quarters the Cavaliers led 86-77 show-casing some effective defense as well as offense. The Warriors won the third quarter 32-29 but had not yet made up the disparity in the second quarter.

The all-important fourth quarter got underway. Warrior guard Stephen Curry was having a great game through three quarters going 7 of 11 from downtown and already shooting for 26 points. Klay Thompson had 15 points and Draymond Green with 12.

The bench was quiet with not a double digit in sight. The Warriors would have to pick it up in the fourth quarter because the Cavaliers were not backing down and it would be up to the Golden State offense.

The Warriors came out with a lot of energy to start the fourth quarter cutting the Cleveland lead to six points. Golden State was struggling from the line going 16 of 25 free throws which was making the difference in this game right now but there was a lot of time left in this one.

The Warriors were having trouble containing Donovan Mitchell who already had 27 points. Every time the Warriors threatened the Cavaliers pushed right back. With Curry, Green, Thompson, Chris Paul and Jonathan Kuminga on the floor, the Warriors would mount their final push-back with under seven minutes left in the game.

They had pulled to within five points but Cleveland always seemed to have the answer. The Warriors would dearly love to have had some of those missed free throws. With five minutes left on the clock the Cavaliers had taken a 104-92 lead and Head Coach Steve Kerr called a time-out.

There was still plenty of time left in the game but they had to slow Cleveland down in some way as well as pick up some of those clutch shots that they are known for. Some untimely turnovers were making things rough for the Warriors. The offense and defense of the Cavaliers was just too much for the Warriors to overcome and the Warriors had lost their first road game of the season 115-104.

The Warriors will have back to back road games Monday taking on the Detroit Pistons. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:00 PM.