Warriors rout Cavaliers in NBA Finals rematch

Stephen Curry scored 35 points, including seven three-pointers, in just three quarters as Golden State pounded the Cavaliers 132-98 in Cleveland on Monday in an NBA Finals rematch.

The Cavs (28-11) narrowly avoided their worst ever home loss while the Warriors (38-4) swept the season series and have won the last five games between the teams.

"That's who we know we can be," Warriors interim coach Luke Walton said. "They were absolutely phenomenal tonight. We can't really ask to play much better than that."

The Cavs suffered just their second home loss this season but were never really in it. They trailed by 26 at the half and fell behind by 43 in the second half -- their largest deficit of the season.

Cleveland's worst-ever home loss was a 114-75 setback against the Chicago Bulls on Jan. 20, 2012.

"Tonight was an example of how far we have to go to be a championship team," said James, who scored 16 points.

J.R. Smith had 14 for the Cavs, who fell to 0-3 this season against the West's elite -- the Warriors and San Antonio Spurs.

Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love shot a combined four-for-16 and totaled 11 points. Love's only basket was a three-pointer late in the first half.

"They definitely played like the champions," Irving said.

The Warriors entered having dropped two of their last three games, including an 18-point loss at Detroit on Saturday. That loss seemed to be a wake-up call for the Warriors, who stormed to a 24-0 start this season.

The Warriors shot 54.1 percent and made 19 three-pointers.

Curry said before arriving in Cleveland he hoped the visiting locker room still smelled like the hundreds of bottles of champagne the Warriors sprayed in it last June when they clinched the Finals in Game Six.

The quip did not go down well in Cleveland.

"It was an overreaction to a comment," Curry said.

"Obviously, when I walked into the locker room, that's the last time I was there. We had a trophy, we had champagne and we had goggles. We had a good time.

"So the first time anybody on our team walks in there, that's what we're going to feel. The way I said it, in a sarcastic way ... it is what it is.

"It smelled like Morton's, our caterer, after the game. That's a good smell."

Golden State's Draymond Green flirted with what would have been his ninth triple-double before finishing with 16 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds in three quarters, while Klay Thompson had 15 points.

Frustration set in for the Cavs in the second half.

Smith was assessed a 'flagrant-2' foul and ejected for running through Harrison Barnes' screen early in the third quarter, and James was whistled for a technical for pushing Festus Ezeli.

"We had a breakdown and we didn't respond to it," Cavs coach David Blatt said. "That and the lack of mental preparation more than anything else really hurt us.

"I told my guys that it starts with me. If they're not mentally ready to play, I take responsibility for that."

For the second time this season, the Cavs fell behind by 30 or more points in a game. They were also blown-out at the Portland Trail Blazers the night after they fell to the Warriors on Christmas Day.

Still, Walton does not believe the Warriors sweeping the season series in such emphatic fashion will give his team any type of edge should they meet again in June.

"To some teams, yeah. To a team that was in the NBA Finals last year and has LeBron James on it, it doesn't send anything," Walton said. "He's not going to let those guys get intimidated at all. I wouldn't imagine that does anything to them."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Warriors thump Cavaliers in NBA Finals rematch

MIAMI, United States - Stephen Curry provided a late fourth-quarter lift and the defending champion Golden State Warriors defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 89-83 Friday in a rematch of last season's NBA Finals.

Reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Curry sank back-to-back driving layups in the final minutes to answer consecutive slam dunks by LeBron James and shut down a Cleveland rally as Golden State improved the best start in NBA history to 28-1.

Curry scored 19 points, grabbed seven rebounds and passed out seven assists while Draymond Green had 22 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists for the Warriors, who also had 18 points from Klay Thompson and 16 more off the bench by Shaun Livingston.

"We want more," Curry said. "We tasted a little bit of success, won a championship, but we have such potential on this team we want to accomplish more. Having the record (start) is great but we want to do a lot more."

The Warriors are on pace to have the winningest record in NBA history and Curry is on pace to break his own record from 3-point baskets in a season.

In a grinding game that produced their lowest scoring game this season, the Warriors improved to 14-0 at home this season with their 32nd overall home victory in a row. They shot only 41 percent from the floor but held Cleveland to 31 percent.

"That was a big win," Curry said. "We came out defensively and did what we were supposed to do. We were a little off offensively but if we can continue to do that, we'll be fine."

Curry missed part of the second quarter after aggravating a right calf injury he suffered Wednesday but said it was only a minor annoyance.

"Nothing serious," Curry said. "I should be back healthy come Tuesday."

James scored 25 points and grabbed nine rebounds but the Cavaliers fell to 19-8, 6-7 on the road, and saw their six-game win streak ended by the same team that beat them four games to two in last June's NBA Finals.

J.R. Smith had 14 points for Cleveland while Kyrie Irving added 13 and Kevin Love and Australian Matthew Dellavedova added 10 points each, Love also pulling down 18 rebounds.

- Butler Did It -

In other Christmas holiday games, Jimmy Butler scored 23 points to power Chicago to a 105-96 upset victory Friday at Oklahoma City while Chris Bosh's 30 points sparked the Miami Heat over New Orleans 94-88 in over-time.

Later contests sent the Los Angeles Clippers against the Los Angeles Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs against Houston.

A week after saying coach Fred Hoiberg was being too soft and laid-back on the Bulls, Butler helped end a three-game losing streak.

"It wasn't part of a plan but whatever works works," Butler said. "I'm going to play with all my might. We've got a great group of guys. If we play hard together, we can do anything."

Butler hit 9-of-20 shots from the field and added six rebounds and four assists for the Bulls, who had 21 points and 13 rebounds from Spanish big man Pau Gasol as Chicago improved to 16-11.

Kevin Durant scored a game-high 29 points with nine rebounds and seven assists to lead Oklahoma City while Russell Westbrook contributed 26 points, eight assists and seven rebounds for the Thunder, who fell to 20-10 with a three-game win streak snapped.

At Miami, the Heat won a seventh consecutive Christmas outing despite shooting a woeful 39.8 percent from the floor.

"We showed a lot of resiliency," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "We'll take this win."

Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry was upset his team managed only two points off of 18 Heat turnovers.

"In 28 years in the NBA, I've never seen that," Gentry said.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com