On Thursday night, the Cleveland Cavaliers welcomed in the Golden State Warriors but had the odds stacked against them, especially with the plethora of injuries the Wine and Gold are currently dealing with as a team.
For three quarters, the Cavaliers held their ground against the surging Warriors, even going up by as many as 13 points. But an unbelievable 36-8 final quarter turned a close game into a Warriors blowout win, due in large part to a 40-point performance from former MVP Stephen Curry, who always seems to enjoy playing in Cleveland. He had 20 points in the closing period, and for the game, went 15-of-27 overall, and 9-of-16 from three-point range.
While the final 12 minutes were ones to forget, the Cavaliers were remarkable even in this game, considering they were without Collin Sexton, Jarrett Allen, Lauri Markkanen, Evan Mobley, Cedi Osman, and Lamar Stevens. This was on the second night of a back-to-back, too, to add to that.
There were a few standouts donning the Mixtape City Wine and Gold uniforms in this game, though, such as Darius Garland, who showed out in this game as he scored a team-high 25 points and also dished out five assists. In his new role off the bench, Kevin Love added 17 points and seven rebounds as well. Even veteran Ed Davis, who started again with Allen out for the third straight outing (illness), stepped up with seven points and 14 rebounds in the contest.
However, there is one guy who truly deserves to be recognized for his performance, as the clear stud perfomer for Cleveland from this one.