One game can’t take back the past, and there is no guarantee it will impact the future, but in the moment it can feel pretty darn good. And judging by the volume level on Warriors Ground, it’s safe to say that all of Dub Nation was riding a feeling of euphoria with Monday’s 126-91 triumph over the Cavs.
GAME LEADERS
Klay Thompson led the way with 26 points, shooting 5-for-11 on 3-pointers and Draymond Green added five blocks to his third triple-double of the season (11 points, 13 rebounds, 11 assists). Stephen Curry had a double-double before halftime and matched the 3-point total of his fellow Splash Brother on a 20- point, 11-assist night and Kevin Durant certainly had his fair share of highlights in a 21-point effort.
The Warriors built a double-digit lead early and turned it up a notch in the second quarter. With the teams seemingly trading baskets for much of the quarter, Kevin Durant lit the fuse with the fuse with a follow-up dunk with a little over four minutes to go in the half.
From there, the run was on. The Warriors would make eight of their last nine shots and out-scored Cleveland 20-5 over the final 4:16 of the first half. It wasn’t just the fact that the Dubs were hitting shots – they were hitting unreal shots. Zaza Pachulia made an unorthodox shot in the paint and then Stephen Curry knocked down the dagger to end the half.
The fact that the Warriors built up the initial lead, however, is due at least in some part to the bench. Warriors reserves gave the team a huge lift, combining to shoot 11-for-13 from the floor in the first half.
Andre Iguodala led the bench unit with a season-high 14 points on 5-of-5 shooting, including a pair of 3-pointers in the first quarter. His play reminiscent of his 2015 NBA Final MVP form, Iguodala complimented his hot hand with five assists and tough defense that helped limited LeBron James to a 6-for-18 performance on the night.
James’ struggles with his shot was indicative of Cleveland’s entire team. While the Warriors shot 62 percent in the first half and 50 percent for the game, the Cavs were right around their final output of 35 percent for the majority of the game. The result was a staggering plus-23 rebounding advantage for the Dubs (58-35).
If one thing was clear at the start of the game, the Dubs sure weren’t going to back down from the fight. After suffering a disappointing loss in Cleveland on Christmas Day in which they lost a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter, not to mention losing the 2016 NBA Finals after holding a 3-1 advantage, the Dubs came out with some fire and were the aggressors from the opening tip, scoring the game’s first seven points.
Besides a sloppy third quarter, the Warriors didn’t take their foot off the pedal very often in this one. They outscored Cleveland 37-13 in fast break points and had 37 assists on 46 made baskets, their 28th game with at least 30.
The Dubs enter the midpoint of the season with a 35-6 record, and they’ll look to conclude a perfect homestand on Wednesday when they host the Oklahoma City Thunder ( Find Tickets).