Wrap-Up – With two of the greatest offensive forces in the game facing off in a highly-anticipated Finals rematch, no one would’ve been surprised to see an old-fashioned shootout. Instead, it turned out to be a bare-knuckle battle that saw the Warriors outlast a cool-shooting Cavalier club – holding on for the 89-83 win on Christmas Day in Oakland.
Coming to California riding a six-game win streak, the Wine and Gold never found their rhythm offensively – shooting just 32 percent from the floor, including 17 percent from beyond the arc.
LeBron James led all scorers with 25 points, going 10-for-26 from the floor to go with nine boards, two assists and a pair of blocked shots. But the 11-time All-Star missed three key free throws in the game’s final 1:33 as Golden State held on to hand Cleveland its seventh road loss of the season.
The Warriors – who came into the game as the NBA’s top scoring squad – shot only 41 percent from the floor themselves and didn’t get big contributions from the usual suspects. Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson shot a combined 12-for-31 from the floor, including 2-of-8 from long-distance.
Instead, it was Draymond Green and former Cavalier, Shaun Livingston, who did most of the damage.
Green led the Warriors with 22 points and 15 boards, going 8-for-17 from the floor. The leading assist man among NBA forwards added seven helpers and a pair of blocked shots. Livingston was nearly perfect from the field, hitting eight of his nine shot attempts for 16 points in just 22 minutes off Luke Walton’s bench.
Kevin Love led all rebounders with 18, but – like the rest of the squad – struggled from the floor, finishing 5-of-16 for 10 points. The combination of Love, LeBron and Kyrie Irving combined to go 1-for-16 from long-range in the loss.
One Cavalier who did fare well from deep was J.R. Smith, who finished 4-of-8 from three-point range, chipping in with 14 points. The point guard duo of Kyrie Irving and Matthew Dellavedova combined for 23 points, but also shot a combined 8-for-26 from the floor.
Turning Point – Despite their offensive struggles, the Wine and Gold stayed attached to the one-loss Warriors throughout the afternoon. But Draymond Green’s layup with 3:48 to play gave Golden State a 10-point edge, its biggest lead of the game.
But LeBron scored on two successive dunks and Kevin Love’s put-back cut the Dubs’ advantage to just four with 2:14 to play. On Golden State’s next possession, Curry scored on a layup, but J.R. Smith answered with his fourth trey of the game to cut the lead in half.
The Cavaliers began to intentionally foul the Warriors’ weaker free throw shooters – Green and Andre Iguodala – in the game’s final 30 seconds. But Cleveland missed a pair of free throws and couldn’t connect on a pair of three-point attempts Golden State held on for its 28th win of the season.
By the Numbers – 270, 72, 14 … points, assists and made three-pointers that LeBron James has totaled in 10 Christmas Day games – ranking him 5th, 4th and 1st all-time in the annual outing.
Quotable – Coach David Blatt, on the Cavaliers’ offensive struggles despite a solid gameplan …
“What we didn’t want to have here was a track meet. Because Golden State at home in a track meet is a team that doesn’t lose. I thought we game-planned properly and executed that gameplan. We just had to make more shots.”
Up Next – After their Christmas Day defeat in Oakland, the Cavaliers continue their difficult junket, heading up the West Coast to take on the Blazers on Saturday night in Portland. After getting Sunday off, it’s another back-to-back before heading home – facing off against the Suns on Monday night in Phoenix before wrapping up the roadie on Tuesday night in Denver. After completing the trip, the Wine and Gold don’t take the floor again until 2016 when they welcome the Magic to The Q on January 2.
