The Warriors nearly overcame a 17-point deficit in the third quarter but fell to the Cleveland Cavaliers 118-110 at Chase Center on Saturday. The Dubs brought the deficit to within one heading into the fourth quarter but were outscored 34-27 in the final frame. The Warriors have played both of their scheduled matchups against the Cavaliers, losing the season series 0-2.
Golden State Warriors Highlights vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
Team Leaders
GSW
| Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Curry – 30 | Looney – 13 | Paul – 9 |
| Thompson – 14 | Green/Moody/Payton – 5 | Green – 4 |
| Wiggins – 13 | Saric/Thompson/Wiggins – 5 | Wiggins – 3 |
CLE
| Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| LeVert – 22 | Strus – 8 | Mitchell – 5 |
| Mitchell – 21 | Mitchell – 7 | Allen – 4 |
| Garland/Mobley – 19 | Wade – 7 | Garland/Strus – 4 |
CURRY REACHES 22,000 CAREER POINTS
In the third quarter, Stephen Curry became the 36th player in NBA history to reach 22,000 career points. Curry ranks fifth among active players in career points scored, only trailing LeBron James, Kevin Durant, James Harden and Russell Westbrook. He is the all-time leading scorer in the Warriors’ franchise history. His teammate Chris Paul is just 157 points away from the 22,000 points club and ranks seventh among active players in all-time scoring.
Curry Reaches 22,000 Career Points
CRASHING THE OFFENSIVE GLASS
The Warriors grabbed six offensive rebounds in the opening quarter and outscored the Cavaliers 11-2 in second-chance points. Andrew Wiggins and Gary Payton II each had two offensive boards, with Kevon Looney and Draymond Green adding one apiece. The Cavaliers have two 7-foot bigs, but the Warriors used their hustle and timing to crash the glass and give their team additional scoring opportunities.
Green scored the Warriors’ first five points and Wiggins scored (four points) or assisted (three assists) on 12 of their first 15 points. Trailing by as many as seven, the Warriors took a 15-14 lead after securing multiple offensive rebounds, the second being a tip-dunk from Wiggins. Chris Paul’s 3-pointer towards the end of the quarter gave the Dubs a 31-30 lead after the first frame.
Thompson Splashes From Downtown
The Warriors out-rebounded Cleveland 55-44 for the game, including 15-11 on the offensive boards. The Dubs had seven players grab at least five rebounds and won the second chance points battle 20-15.
SECOND-QUARTER STRUGGLES AND THIRD-QUARTER COMEBACK
The Warriors were outscored by 17 points in the second quarter (38-21), finding themselves down by 16 points at halftime. They shot just 7-for-20 from the field, while the Cavaliers nearly doubled their made field goals (13 FGM) and nearly had as many made threes (six) as the Dubs had field goals (seven).
In the third quarter, the Warriors reversed the script — outscoring Cleveland by 15 in the stanza — paced by Curry’s 13 points. They even weathered Draymond Green being ejected from the game, picking up his second technical foul halfway through the quarter. Green hyped up the Chase Center crowd as he exited and the Warriors finished the period on a 17-7 run.
TOO MANY TURNOVERS
The Warriors committed a season-high 20 turnovers and allowed a season-high 32 points off those turnovers. They could only score eight points off 11 Cavaliers’ turnovers, losing the points off turnovers battle by 24 points. Heading into Saturday’s game, Chris Paul had the league’s best assist-to-turnover ratio and had committed just one turnover over his last five games. On Saturday, he tied a season-high with three turnovers, joining Curry (4 TOVs), Thompson (3 TOVs) and Wiggins (3 TOVs) with at least three giveaways.
The Golden State Warriors fell to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday night, but Steph Curry became the 35th player in NBA history to reach 22,000 career points. It was not an efficient shooting night for Curry, but he finished with a team-high 30 points in the loss to Cleveland.
The Cavaliers have been a tough opponent for the Warriors so far this season, handing them two of their four losses to start the season. This was another winnable game for the Warriors that they lost because of late game execution. While the Warriors trailed by as many as 17 points early in the game, they erased that deficit and had an opportunity to win the game.
As previously mentioned, Curry was not nearly as efficient in this game as he has been for most of this season, but he did reach 30 points in the game to put him over 22,000 for his career. This is one of many milestones Curry has reached in his legendary career, and with the way he is playing there will be several more to come.
The Warriors have hit a bit of a skid after starting out hot, dropping three of their last four games, including two to the Cavaliers. Now 6-4 on the season, the Warriors will look to get back on track when they face the Timberwolves on Sunday.
