Draymond Green Triple-Double Earns Warriors Christmas Win vs. LeBron James, Cavs

The Golden State Warriors put on a defensive clinic and topped the Cleveland Cavaliers 99-92 in an NBA Finals rematch at Oracle Arena on Christmas Day. 

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Warriors stop the Cavs on Christmas! pic.twitter.com/T3sMeoN1ku

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 25, 2017"

The defending champions, who entered the day ranked second in defensive rating (per NBA.com), piled up eight blocks and seven steals as they repeatedly stymied the Cavaliers inside the arc and limited them to 31.8 percent shooting from the field. 

As a team, Cleveland shot 13-of-52 on two-point shots, including an 0-of-17 effort in the second quarter.  

On the other end, Kevin Durant led the Warriors with 25 points (8-of-19 shooting) to go with his game-high five swats. 

He also played stout isolation defense against LeBron James on a handful of crunch-time possessions—although there was a controversial no-call with 24.5 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter: 

Draymond Green added 12 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists to join James, Russell Westbrook, Billy Cunningham, John Havlicek and Oscar Robertson as the only players to record a triple-double on Christmas, according to ESPN Stats & Info.   

Green made his way into that exclusive club while rocking kicks that included an apparent Arthur-themed jab at James: 

The Warriors also received 24 points from Klay Thompson—who drilled four treys after making three in his previous two games combined. 

Cleveland countered with a relatively icy attack, but Kevin Love proved scalding. 

In 36 minutes, Love dropped a game-high 31 points (9-of-25 shooting) and grabbed a season-high 18 rebounds. According to Basketball Reference, Love joined Dirk Nowitzki as the only players in league history to tally at least six made threes and 18 boards in a game. 

The Cavaliers finished with 15 swishes from distance at a 41.7 percent clip to hang around well into the fourth quarter, but a pedestrian scoring night from James (20 points, 7-of-18 shooting) capped their offensive upside. 

The sides will meet again Jan. 15 at Quicken Loans Arena with Stephen Curry (ankle) and Isaiah Thomas (hip) likely back for a full-strength tilt between the NBA's two pre-eminent teams.