Cavaliers vs. Warriors: Score and Twitter Reaction from Christmas Day 2015
In a defensive struggle that resembled several of last season's championship tilts, the Golden State Warriors captured an 89-83 Christmas Day win over the Cleveland Cavaliers at Oracle Arena.
The defending champions improved to 14-0 at home and have now ripped off four straight wins since losing to the Milwaukee Bucks on Dec. 12. At 28-1, the Warriors own the best record in NBA history through 29 games, per ESPN Stats & Info.
On a day when Stephen Curry struggled to the tune of 19 points on 6-of-15 shooting while being nagged by a calf injury, Draymond Green and Shaun Livingston stepped up in a big way.
Green was far and away Golden State's most reliable player, and he finished with team-highs of 22 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists. Livingston, meanwhile, poured in a season-high 16 points on 8-of-9 shooting off the bench.
While both sides found buckets hard to come by, the Cavaliers couldn't get much going if shots weren't flying off LeBron James' hands. James finished with 25 points and nine rebounds, but the Cavaliers were limited to 31.6 percent shooting from the field and 16.7 percent shooting from three against the Warriors' fifth-ranked defense.
Kevin Love chipped in 10 points and 18 boards, while Kyrie Irving and J.R. Smith finished with 13 and 14 points, respectively.
To exemplify just how off Cleveland's attack was, B/R Insights noted Friday was the first time in 32 games the Cavaliers lost when allowing 96 points or fewer.
The first half was a throwback performance from the Cavaliers. Just like Games 2 and 3 of the 2015 NBA Finals, Cleveland attempted to grind the pace to a halt, play low-post offense and limit Golden State's ability to get out in transition.
That strategy turned out to be a successful one over the first 24 minutes, as the Cavaliers limited Golden State to six fast-break points and were consistently able to get back into their defensive sets and muddy things up once they were in position. As a result, the Warriors struggled to a rare degree entering halftime, per B/R Insights:
".@warriors in 1Q: 10-of-19 (52.6%), 28 pts. 2Q: 6-of-19 (31.6%) 17 pts. 45 pts is fewest Warriors have scored in 1st half this year.
— B/R Insights (@BR_Insights) December 25, 2015"
Since the Cavaliers were successful on defense, they were able to survive 30.4 percent shooting from the field and 2-of-17 from three in the first half. During that span, Cleveland's primary sources of offense came via isolations and post-ups buoyed by strength, as the NBA noted on Twitter:
And even though the Cavs defense continued to hunker down in the second half, Curry and Co. found ways around their big bodies en route to spectacular finishes at the rim, as the B/R documented:
The Cavaliers did an admirable job of containing Curry and forcing other Warriors playmakers to beat them, but steady offensive execution eluded the defending Eastern Conference champions as a result of their stylistic preferences, according to SB Nation's Mike Prada:
Those inefficiencies carried over to the second half, when the Cavaliers couldn't muster enough jump shooting to slide past a Warriors team that looked more composed and energized down the stretch thanks to its small-ball approach.
It may have been a disappointing holiday for the Wine and Gold, but they'll have a chance to avenge Friday's loss at Quicken Loans Arena on Jan. 18.
Until then, all eyes will be on the Warriors as they seek to sustain another winning streak before heading back to the site of their Game 6 Finals triumph.
Postgame Reaction
As B/R Insights and ESPN Stats & Info explained, Friday was a rough shooting day for Cleveland's stars:
"This was just the second time this season LeBron had more FGA (26) than points (25). #NBAXmas #CLEvsGSW pic.twitter.com/hXPHUsh3Yy
— B/R Insights (@BR_Insights) December 26, 2015"
It was also an off game for the Warriors, according to Sports Illustrated's Ben Golliver:
However, interim head coach Luke Walton was encouraged by one facet of his team's play, per ESPN.com's Ethan Strauss:
LeBron also emanated positive vibes following the win, according to Cleveland.com's Chris Haynes:
As for Curry, CSN Bay Area's Monte Poole reported the reigning MVP "insisted" he was fine upon returning to action following a brief second-quarter absence due to a calf injury.
