The Warriors lost a heartbreaker, falling 109-108 to the Cavaliers on Christmas Day. Kevin Durant led all players with 36 points and 15 rebounds, while Klay Thompson and Draymond Green added 24 and 16 points, respectively, but Kyrie Irving’s turnaround jumper with three seconds remaining proved to be the difference. With the loss, Golden State drops to 27-5 on the season.
GAME LEADERS
The Warriors only trailed for 43 seconds on Sunday, but they were behind when it mattered most. Irving converted the second of back-to-back jumpers with 6:26 remaining in the first quarter to put Cleveland in front 10-8, but JaVale McGee’s dunk on the ensuing possession evened the score, and Golden State wouldn’t trail again until the final minutes of the fourth. Draymond Green picked up two fouls within the first two minutes of the contest, but the Warriors still managed to hold a 27-25 lead at the end of the first while limiting the Cavaliers to just 33.3 percent shooting from the field.
Stephen Curry’s first three-pointer of the game at the 4:15 mark of the second frame put the finishing touches on a 9-2 Golden State run that would give the Dubs their largest lead of the first half at 49-38. It wouldn’t last for long, however, as Cleveland responded with a 12-1 burs of their own, pulling even at 50-50 on LeBron James’ layup with 1:08 remaining in the half. Golden State wouldn’t relinquish the lead entirely, though, scoring five of the final seven points of the quarter to take a slim 55-52 advantage into halftime.
Kevin Love drained a three-pointer 11 seconds into the second half to tie the game at 55, but Durant’s own three-pointer on the ensuing possession put the Warriors back in front, where they’d remain for the duration of the third frame. The Cavaliers would keep the Dubs within shouting distance, not permitting them to generate a lead greater than six points until Durant’s dunk increased the advantage to 87-79 with 28 seconds remaining in the quarter. James would split free throws at the end of the frame, sending the game into the fourth and final quarter with Golden State in front 87-70.
The Warriors would open the fourth frame on a 7-0 run to take their largest lead of the game at 94-80 with 9:34 remaining in regulation. Slowly but surely, however, Cleveland began to chip away at that deficit, and ultimately pulled even at 103-103 on Irving’s layup with 2:17 left to play. After Durant missed a jumper, James dunked to give the Cavaliers a momentary lead, but that was quickly erased on Draymond Green’s dunk 12 seconds later. Klay Thompson came up with a tremendous block of Irving’s layup attempt on the ensuing possession, and as Golden State raced back down the court, Durant found Curry on the wing, who promptly dropped in a three-pointer to put the Warriors up 108-105 with 1:14 remaining. That would prove to be the Warriors’ final basket, however, as Irving brought Cleveland within a single point on a layup with 37 seconds left, and then dealt the decisive blow on a turnaround jumper with three seconds left in regulation. After advancing the ball to midcourt on a timeout, Andre Iguodala inbounded to Kevin Durant, but the game’s leading scorer was unable to get a shot off, securing the victory for Cleveland.
With the loss, Golden State drops to 27-5 on the season. They’ll now return to the Bay Area for a five-game homestand, beginning on Wednesday against the visiting Toronto Raptors.