This is a continuation of the halftime recap of the Golden State Warriors at the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs took a 61-56 lead into the 3rd quarter.
3RD QUARTER: LeBron Long-Range On Point
The Warriors started the second half with good defense again, as Klay Thompson blocked a Kevin Love three-point try:
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Then after another Love miss, Harrison Barnes got the rebound and outlet the ball to Stephen Curry, who quickly found Klay Thompson from the left elbow, drilling the three to cut the Cavs’ lead to 65-61.
But then Timofey Mozgov hit a jumper and LeBron James, who had 24 points at the half, added two step-backs, and after Draymond Green lost the ball out of bounds and added a technical, Mozgov hit another jumper and Warriors head coach Steve Kerr called timeout and took his jacket off, down 72-61. The Cavs had twenty trips to the charity stripe compared to the Warriors’ 9.
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But James was too much, pulling up for a three-pointer from the deep left elbow and getting a fading, re-gathering jumper to go over Klay Thompson after Klay committed his 2nd turnover. That put the Cavs up, 77-61, but Curry came up with a much-needed layup after dribbling through the Cleveland perimeter.
The Warriors couldn’t string momentum together, even after this thunderous dunk by Green over Mozgov, that trimmed the Cavs’ lead to 79-65 with 4:54 to go in the third:
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Despite treys by Barnes and two more by Thompson, the Warriors still trailed by double-digits heading into the final frame, with Klay committing his 3rd turnover with 29 seconds remaining and James converting the run-out dunk on the other end to give the Cavs a 90-76 lead.
Cleveland took a 90-78 lead into the fourth quarter as James scored 14 more points to total 38.
4TH QUARTER: Well Runs Dry
For a long stretch, the closest the Warriors got was single-digits, thanks to two bad passes by Mozgov, the last of which led to a Leandro Barbosa trey with 10:12 remaining and the Cavs’ lead trimmed to 92-83.
Curry checked back in at the 8:32 mark for Shaun Livingston and Kerr went small with Barnes at the 4 and Green at the 5.
But despite two reverse slams and a three-pointer by Andre Iguodala, the Cavs continued to make a living at the free throw line and kept the Warriors at a double-digit distance.
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Meanwhile, the Warriors’ woes from the charity stripe continued, as Lee couldn’t convert his and-one.
Curry had trouble getting open looks and the Cavs’ slow pace and good team defense kept the Warriors frustrated. James added two steals as Barnes and Curry both made unforced errant passes.
With 2:38 to play, Green got an and-one on James, but missed yet again from the charity stripe, giving the Warriors an atrocious 9-for-17 mark from the free-throw line.
Golden State wouldn’t score for another two minutes as Cleveland won in ugly fashion, neutralizing Curry and the Warriors’ systematic offense. James led all scorers with 42 points on 15-for-25 field, 4-for-9 downtown, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals.
The Warriors were just 39-for-92 from the field (42.4%) tallying just 10-for-19 from the charity stripe while the Cavs’ were an astounding 29-for-35 from the free throw line.
Curry had just 18 points on 5-for-17 field and Klay had just 13 points on 5-for-13, as the Cavaliers prevented the #SplashBrothers from making any kind of run. Green had a quiet 16 points, 8 rebounds, while Lee scored 19 off the bench.
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