“It was an ugly game but we made the right adjustments and we came out with a win”. “We just show our versatility and try to win different ways”.
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Interim Warriors head coach Luke Walton, who is likely to soon hand back control of the team to Steve Kerr as his rehabilitation from back surgery nears its conclusion, was somewhat alarmed at the sight of a prized asset leaving the court, but is placing his trust in Curry’s optimistic self-assessment. “So, for us, having this Christmas game was a great test and we’ll see them again”.
LeBron James scored 25 points to lead the Cavaliers. But despite their struggles, the Dubs still managed to eek out a win in what was probably the most anticipated game on the National Basketball Association schedule this year, thanks in large part to a monster performance from Draymond Green.
“When you’re 28-1 and you’re not near playing well, that’s exciting because we know how to get to that point, and we know we’ll reach that point”, Green said. “I think we put too much pressure on ourselves wanting to go out there and play well, and it just didn’t work in our benefit”.
So you can expect when they get one, they’ll pounce on it. A lesson the Cavaliers learned on Christmas. Both times, Love seemingly had an opportunity to step across to provide help defense, but he wound up being a bystander on the play. On offense (22 points, 8-17 from the field, 2-3 from three, 7 assists), on defense (14 defensive rebounds, 2 blocks, countless shots made more difficult), and on chest-pounding swagger, there was no better player on the court. “To keep them to the 80s, they never really got in a flow where they could really attack us”.
This caps a year where he was named NBA MVP, led the Golden State Warriors to their first championship in 39 years, and is on pace to retain his MVP crown. It was the result of them out-hustling, out-defending, and out-passing the Cleveland Cavaliers, and at the core of all those facets of the game, Green was the one setting the tone. C Timofey Mozgov had zero points on 0-for-5 shooting.
Harden finished with 20 points and nine assists while center Dwight Howard chipped in 11 points and 12 rebounds as Houston snapped the Spurs’ seven-game winning streak. G Shaun Livingston scored a season-high 16 points off the bench…. Harrison Barnes was out due to his badly sprained ankle, just as he has been for the 11 previous games. They shot only 41 per cent from the floor but held Cleveland to 31 per cent, including 5-of-30 from 3-point range. He did not make a single one of his five attempts, which hurt his team.
James immediately countered by slamming home dunks on consecutive possessions, then had a driving miss tipped in by Love, rallying the Cavaliers within 81-77 with 2:14 to go.
“It’s one of those nights”, Love said.
“The buildup was kind of the same as Game 1 of a year ago”, Curry said.
“That was a big win”, Curry said. I can’t even do it. “I’ll hopefully be able to get back to 100 percent”.
Earlier, Chicago Bulls upset the Oklahoma City Thunder 105-96 and the Miami Heat beat the New Orleans Pelicans 94-88 in overtime. Love scored 10 but was a force on the backboard with 18 rebounds, 15 of them at the defensive end. He played a little more than 26 minutes against the Warriors and scored 13 points, averaging more points-per-minute than Curry but not making enough of a difference.
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Curry, who played 37 minutes, had 19 points in the game with seven assists and seven rebounds.
