Latest debacle against Cavs drops ice cold Warriors to .500 mark

BY DANIEL GLUSKOTER

The Warriors closed 2024 on a down note, getting torched 113–95 by the Cleveland Cavaliers at Chase Center Monday night.

©DANIEL GLUSKOTER
Cleveland guard Donovan Mitchell drives to the basket between Golden State’s Trayce Jackson-Davis and Steph Curry (L-R) during the Cavs 113-95 win over the Warriors Monday night at Chase Center.

Golden State was no match for the Cavs and their pair of All-Star guards, Donovan Mitchell (23 points, 5-11 from three) and Darius Garland (25 points, eight assists) as they won their seventh straight and improved their record to an NBA best 28-4.

Cleveland went on a 34-16 run to start the third quarter to take a 28 point lead with just over three minutes remaining in the stanza as Mitchell went off for five three pointers in six attempts.

The Warriors (16-16) started strong, taking a 20-13 lead as they attempted to avenge the embarrassment of a 41 point halftime deficit the last time the two teams met in Cleveland on November 8th. Golden State has now lost 13 of their last 17 games.

Moses Moody, coming off the bench, led the Warriors with a season high 19 points on 7-8 shooting while Jonathan Kuminga added 18 despite a poor shooting night (4-15). Golden State’s starters were dismal, getting out scored 77–52. Trayce Jackson-Davis somehow led the group with 16 points and a career high 16 rebounds in spite of seemingly missing an amazing amount of shots close to the rim. Steph Curry again struggled, going just 4–14 from the field on the way to 11 points.

Jarrett Allen (12 points, nine rebounds) and Dean Wade (10 points and 13 boards) were both forces in the middle for Cleveland, who will have a quick turnaround on the way to a 6PM New Year’s Eve game in Los Angeles against the Lakers.

©DANIEL GLUSKOTER
Jarrett Allen goes up for a shot over Trayce Jackson-Davis on the way to a 12 point, nine rebound effort during Cleveland’s 113-95 win over the Warriors Monday night at Chase Center.

Asked about matching up against a team with the Cavaliers size, Warriors coach Steve Kerr stated “They’ve been a tough matchup for us for the last few years with (Evan) Mobley and Allen patrolling the paint. Then they’ve got excellent role players. Obviously two stars in the backcourt with Mitchell and Garland. But a whole group of role players who can all dribble, and pass, and shoot, and know how to play. They’ve been together now for some years. They kind of remind me of our team when I first got here. They’ve been together now for a while and the continuity is obvious, and it feels like a team that’s really-well connected. There’s a reason they are 28-4. They’re really good. The key stretch of the game was Mitchell’s three three’s to start the third. We scored first and then they scored 12 in a row and broke it open”

Golden State can now comfort itself with three days off at home before returning to Chase Center for a Thursday night match up with the Philadelphia 76ers.

GAME NOTES:

This was the Warriors third straight loss to Cleveland after winning 12 straight.

Golden State shot a season low 33.3% from the field, also scoring a season low 11 points in the second quarter.

Kuminga became the youngest player in franchise history to reach the 3,000 point mark.

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