Juan Blanco, RotoWire
Brandon Paul’s 21 points and a 50-point first half propelled the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 91-74 victory over the Golden State Warriors in Las Vegas Summer League action at Thomas and Mack Center on Monday night.
The Cavs (3-0) came storming out of the gate with a 30-point first quarter and built a 50-31 advantage by halftime. They never trailed in the contest, and despite getting outperformed in multiple categories on the stat sheet by the Warriors (0-2), Cleveland led by as much as 27 and cruised to a comfortable victory. The Cavs boasted a notable shooting advantage, too, posting a 45.9 percent success rate from the field while limiting Golden State to 32.9 percent.
Paul shot 8-for-12 from the field overall and added four rebounds, two assists and a steal to his game-high scoring total. Sir’Dominic Pointer, a 2015 second-round pick, led the reserves with 13 points, five rebounds, an assist, a steal and a block in 17 minutes. Kay Felder managed 12 points, six rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block. Former Virginia power forward Anthony Gill was next with 11 points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals. Sam Cassell, Jr. (eight points, two rebounds, one assist), Malcolm Thomas (seven points, 10 rebounds, two blocks) and T.J. Williams (seven points, two rebounds, an assist and a steal) were productive off the bench, as well.
The Warriors saw only two players manage double digits in the scoring column, with former Louisiana Tech guard Alex Hamilton leading the way with 11 points, two rebounds and a steal in 17 minutes off the bench. Jabari Brown posted 10 points, four rebounds, an assist and two steals. Patrick McCaw, impressive as a rookie last season, tallied nine points, two rebounds, two assists and a block. Kevon Looney and Damian Jones generated matching six-point, nine-rebound efforts.
The Warriors are back in action Tuesday afternoon versus the Minnesota Timberwolves while the Cavaliers await the final playoff seeding for the Vegas Summer League playoffs, which begin Wednesday.
