Warriors vs. Cavaliers final score: Golden State annihilates Cleveland for all 48 minutes

From the 7-0 run that opened the game to the 41-point second quarter that extended the lead past 30, there was never a doubt about the Golden State Warriors being in charge against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday. In the two rivals’ second and final regular season game, the Warriors’ 126-91 win was thoroughly dominating in nearly every manner.

Cleveland, on the end of a six-game road trip, missed shots early and never put up much of a fight as the game wore on. After two LeBron James free throws, the Cavaliers were within 14 points with a few minutes left in the second frame. But Stephen Curry fueled a blistering run by the Warriors to end the quarter, where the team assisted on a season-high 26 of their 33 field goals. Curry ended up with the buzzer beater headed into halftime, too.

Curry’s night stands out after the Cavaliers had done a great job limiting him over the past year. While it took him 20 shots to score 20 points, Curry’s 11 assists and four steals set the tone. All the Warriors were great, but Draymond Green had a night worth noting in print — his 11-point, 13-rebound, 11-assist evening was his third triple-double this year, and he added five blocks to the evening as well. He was a game-high plus-42.

The only other notable part of the evening was Green’s flagrant-one committed against James in the second quarter — two players who have some history, of course. You can reasonably argue James flopped a little, which caused Green to mock him moments later. That will only help the best rivalry in sports.

This game doesn’t change our opinion of either team. They’re both on pace to win their conference and it’s hard to see them not meeting in the Finals yet again for a third straight season. The Warriors were already favorites, given Kevin Durant’s offseason addition, but nobody’s counting the Cavaliers out — and certainly not because of this game.

The Warriors and the Cavaliers played on Martin Luther King Jr. Day last season, and Golden State waxed them then as well. This game was a beatdown, but we can’t wait for the next one.

We know Golden State has only lost twice since Dec. 10. We know they have the NBA’s best record and are generally dominating anyone who comes their way with 35-6 record — not a record-setting pace, but a 70-win one nevertheless. And yet, as our esteemed colleague Paul Flannery pointed out, the only outcome in this game that would have really been worrisome is if the Warriors didn’t show up.

Riding a four-game losing streak against the Cavaliers dating back to June, and after not just losing, but blowing a double-digit fourth quarter lead on Christmas Day, Golden State needed to beat them. We’re all expecting a rematch between these two in this year’s Finals, and the outcome of the two regular season games doesn’t really matter like those games will. But the Warriors needed a boost, and this was it.

Cleveland has been on the road since Jan. 5, playing games on both sides of the country. It showed on Monday, with the team missing makeable jumpers early on (notably Kyle Korver) and then never showing much urgency to mount a comeback past the middle of the second quarter.

This isn’t an excuse, necessarily. The Warriors thoroughly waxed them, and they would have done the same even had the Cavaliers played a bit better. But this isn’t the Cavaliers you’ll see in the playoffs (and presumably, the Finals). They can, and will, be better than this.

Green had five blocks. Durant had three. Wondering why the Warriors are the second-best defense in the league despite running Zaza Pachulia and JaVale McGee out there as their centers? The rest of the team is just so good.

The Warriors lost two key cogs in Andrew Bogut and Harrison Barnes this summer, but with Green playing arguably even better than ever and Durant focusing on that end more than any other time in his career, Golden State keeps dominating on both ends.