Darius Garland finished with game highs of 25 points and eight assists as the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers cruised to their seventh straight win, a 113-95 decision over the Golden State Warriors on Monday (Tuesday, December 31, Manila time) in San Francisco.
Dean Wade recorded 10 points and 13 rebounds for Cleveland. Donovan Mitchell finished with 23 points, and his 5-of-11 shooting from beyond the 3-point arc led Cleveland to an 18-of-47 night (38.3 percent) from long distance.
Mitchell’s third-quarter 3-point barrage keyed the decisive run. He opened the period by sinking treys on three straight Cleveland possessions for a 9-0 spurt.
The quick burst was part of a pivotal 20-5 run that lasted the first four minutes of the period and was capped when Mitchell connected on his fourth 3-pointer of the stretch.
On the other end, the Cavaliers’ defense made it difficult for Golden State to score from outside or the interior. The Warriors shot just 33 of 99 from the floor, including 9 of 38 (23.7 percent) on 3-point attempts.
Golden State star Stephen Curry went 4-for-14 and scored just 11 points, his third-lowest output of the season. Curry previously managed just 12 points in the Warriors’ 19-point loss at Cleveland on Nov. 8.
Evan Mobley contributed to the Cavaliers’ defensive effort on Monday with three blocked shots. Jarrett Allen and Wade each blocked a pair of shots, and Allen finished with 12 points and nine rebounds. Ty Jerome added 10 points off the Cleveland bench.
Moses Moody led Golden State with 19 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the floor. Jonathan Kuminga recorded 18 points and 10 rebounds in the loss, and Trayce Jackson-Davis grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds to go with his season-high-tying 16 points.
Golden State took its seventh loss in the past nine games. Cleveland, meanwhile, improved to 2-0 on its four-game Western Conference road swing that continues on Tuesday in Los Angeles vs. the Lakers. – Rappler.com
