It wasn't supposed to happen like this. The Golden State Warriors were supposed to go into Cleveland and the two teams were going to give NBA fans another tense, heart-wrenching matchup in a rematch of the 2015 NBA Finals. Just like in their Christmas Day game, the Cavaliers were supposed to slow down the prolific Warriors' offense by controlling the pace and with defensive intensity -- especially after Stephen Curry threw out some fighting words by saying he hoped the Cleveland visiting locker room still smelled "like champagne."
NBA scores 2016: Stephen Curry and the Warriors dismantle the lazy Cavaliers
The Warriors making the Cavaliers look silly, Kemba Walker going off for 52 and everything else from Martin Luther King Day in the NBA.
Jason Miller/Getty Images
The Cavaliers had other plans, though. And they didn’t involve winning a basketball game. Lacking in effort and resolve all night, the Cavaliers were no match for the Warriors, who led by as many as 43 as they coasted to an easy 132-98 win. It’s the Warriors’ fifth win in a row over the Cavaliers, who suffered their worst defeat of the year.
Curry scored 35 points to lead the Warriors as he shot 12-of-18 from the field and 7-of-12 from deep. He had his usual, at this point run-of-the-mill, set of spectacular plays, but it was the way the rest of the Warriors’ offense was clicking that had the Cavaliers on their heels all night.
Draymond Green had 16 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds. Finals MVP Andre Iguodala continued his assault of the Cavaliers with 20 points on 7-of-8 shooting off the bench. Backdoor cuts and ball movement ruled the day for the Warriors, who hit shots at an absurd rate, shooting 54.1 percent from the field and 47.5 percent from deep.
They became the third team ever to shoot 47 percent or better on 40 or more three-point attempts in a single game. They also did it on Dec. 28 against the Kings, per Zach Oliver. But they weren't only shooting from three, they were getting to the rim, too. The Warriors took 85 shots, with 47 coming from deep and 27 coming in the lane.
And while it was an impressive shooting performance from the defending champs, the Cavaliers did nothing to stop it. Instead, they almost funneled the Warriors into looks from deep and in the lane.
They were chasing the Cavaliers around on defense all night, unable to come up with a scheme to slow them. In the finals and on Christmas Day the Cavaliers controlled the pace of the game, making it very difficult for the Warriors to go on one of their patented runs by guarding with intensity for 48 minutes.
In those games they showed focus and tremendous effort on the defensive side of the court. There was none of that on Monday. James had made much of the Cavaliers’ effort this season, saying they aren’t playing with enough urgency. They threw any effort out the window against the Warriors. This Kevin Love defensive lapse is case in point.
A simple pick-and-roll made Love look completely lost. He's at the top of the key as Green sprints to the hoop to find Andrew Bogut for an easy tip-in. Love had defensive issues in the Cavaliers' loss to the Spurs last week and clearly still has a long ways to go.
Now the Cavaliers have lost their fifth straight to the Warriors, this one in embarrassing fashion. If a loss like this doesn’t kick them into gear, the Cavaliers have some serious soul-searching to do.
The Warriors, on the other hand, currently have the number of the East’s best team. The problem for Golden State at this point is in the West. Namely, the San Antonio Spurs.
There’s good news, though: The two best teams in the league get to test one another on Jan. 25. It can’t come soon enough.
3 other things we learned
Clippers meltdowns happen in 2016, too, but now they turn things around for wins
Unlike the Cavaliers, the Clippers came out with revenge on their minds against the Houston Rockets. After blowing a 3-1 series lead in the Western Conference Semifinals last year, the Clippers made sure to give the Rockets their best shot on Tuesday. For three quarters, that is.
It was the same old Clippers as they blew a double-digit late in the fourth quarter lead while the Rockets went on a 24-10 run over the final 4:17 to send it to overtime. It was a massive meltdown, something the Clippers know plenty about. This time, at least, they re-upped and pulled themselves together to pick up an overtime win. They scored the first six points of the extra frame and went on to win 140-132. Chris Paul had 28 points and 12 assists, but three-point shooting lifted the Clippers. J.J. Redick hit nine threes on his way to 40 points as the Clippers went 22-for-37 from deep as a team, which set a franchise record for most made threes. Not that this is a normal thing for the Clippers, who are making an average of 8.9 threes per game this season on 35.5 percent.
It was a huge night for Dwight Howard, who had 36 points and 26 rebounds for the Rockets in a losing effort. James Harden added 20 points and eight assists.
While the Warriors, Spurs, Cavaliers and Thunder have established themselves as the top four teams in the league, the Clippers are next on the list. At 27-14 they're a level behind, but this is a team that beat the Spurs in the playoffs last season. With Paul at the helm and Blake Griffin -- when healthy -- and DeAndre Jordan down low, this team does have the talent to take down one of those top four teams. They do, however, still need to work on their ability to close as evidenced once again by the Rockets. The Clippers are good, but they're not complete yet.
Kemba Walker really wants to be an All-Star
He might actually have a shot, too. He was averaging 19.1 points and five assists coming into Monday, and that first number is now going to be even closer to 20 following his 52-point (needless to say a career high, and also a franchise record), nine-rebound, eight assist outburst against the Jazz. Walker did everything for Charlotte in its 124-119 double-overtime win over the Jazz, and if it weren't for his array of pull-up jumpers and driving scoops the Hornets might have blown what was once a 15-point lead. Look what he does here to poor Rudy Gobert.
What a move by Kemba Walker on Rudy Gobert. pic.twitter.com/c02upu8DUY
— CBS Sports NBA (@CBSSportsNBA) January 18, 2016 Of course, we’ve seen games like this from Walker before. Or maybe not exactly like this -- 52 points is a hell of a number -- but this isn’t the first time he’s exploded. The issue with Walker has always been efficiency (he’s shooting just 43 percent this season). Walker was an impressive 16-of-34 against the Jazz on Monday. But the Hornets are still just 19-22. It’s unlikely Walker goes for 50 again this year, but Charlotte is going to need more performances similar to this one in order to climb back into the playoff hunt.
- Yaron Weitzman
Ish Smith has turned the Sixers into a legitimate NBA team
Who knew that a 27-year-old journeyman point guard could do so much for a team. So it goes, though, when the team in question has spent the past few seasons running out a bunch of DIII-level players at the point. Smith might not be a star, but he’s a professional-level basketball player with a professional-level skill set. Turns out that’s all the Sixers needed in order to start playing like a professional team.
Case in point: Philly’s 119-113 double-overtime loss to the Knicks on Monday. Despite trailing by 18 at one point in the third quarter the Sixers were able to come roaring back as Smith repeatedly knifed through the Knicks’ defense. He put pressure on New York in a way no Sixers point guard has since, well, A.I.? (Just kidding. Kind of). He wasn’t only creating for himself, either. Smith shot just 8-of-28 from the field, but he did score 16 points and more importantly dished out 16 assists. And many of his misses were good ones, the type that come off penetration, force help and lead to offensive rebounds and putback dunks.
The Sixers were unable to hold on after pulling ahead of the Knicks, but here’s the most telling stat: since adding Ish Smith they’re 4-7. Beforehand they were 1-31. Somewhere Sam Hinkie is crying.
- Yaron Weitzman
Play of the night
This is a nice example of the kinds of the shots the Warriors were getting all night. They didn’t have the help of the enraged fan on every Curry shot, though.
8 fun things
Scores
Knicks 119, Sixers 113 2OT (Posting and Toasting recap | Liberty Ballers recap)
Hornets 124, Jazz 119 2OT (At the Hive recap | SLC Dunk recap)
Blazers 108, Wizards 98 (Blazer's Edge recap | Bullets Forever recap)
Bulls 111, Pistons 101 (Blog a Bull recap | Detroit Bad Boys recap)
Raptors 112, Nets 100 (Raptors HQ recap | Nets Daily recap)
Warriors 132, Cavaliers 98 (Golden State of Mind recap | Fear the Sword recap)
Mavericks 118, Celtics 113 OT (Mavs Moneyball recap | Celtics Blog recap)
Clippers 140, Rockets 132 OT (Clips Nation recap | The Dream Shake recap)
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