Golden State Warriors beat Cleveland Cavaliers 99-92, in a match that is considered an NBA classic.
Contrary to the audience’s expectations of an offensive feast, the two strongest teams of the NBA last season started very tightly. No points were scored in the first two minutes. The Warriors committed 6 turnovers in the first half, allowing the Cavaliers to take the lead after 12 minutes.
But when the visitors’ starting players were taken off, their advantage was gone. The Warriors’ youth proved to be superior to the Cavaliers’ aging bench. The defending champions led 46-44 after the first half.
The game didn’t change much in the second half, when defense was better than offense. The Warriors had eight blocks, with Kevin Durant alone contributing five.
Kevin Durant (white shirt) had an excellent match, both in attack and defense.
Durant was the Warriors’ top scorer with 25 points. Klay Thompson contributed 24 points, while Draymond Green also had a good game with his first triple-double of the season (12 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists).
For the Cavaliers, Kevin Love was the main striker with 31 points and 18 rebounds. Love is the second player, after Dirk Nowitzki, to have at least six successful three-pointers and 18 rebounds in a game. Meanwhile, superstar LeBron James was lackluster in attack with only 20 points and six assists.
The Warriors led 90-81 with five minutes left, the biggest lead of the game. But the Cavaliers quickly leveled the score at 92-92. For the third year in a row, the Christmas showdown was tense until the final seconds.
LeBron James (No. 23, black) had a tough match against Golden State’s tough defense.
Klay Thompson hit a three-pointer to make it 95-92, before the turning point came with half a minute left.
Kevin Durant successfully blocked LeBron James in a controversial situation. For the fourth time in the match, the referees had to review the slow-motion video. As a result, Durant did not commit a foul, the ball hit James’ hand and went out.
The ball was in the Warriors’ possession with under 24 seconds left. The home team made no mistake on the free throws, to go on to win 99-92.
