Warriors Reignite Their Season with a Massive Win Over Last Year’s Top Seed
Golden State opened as an eight point underdog in their matchup tonight against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Donovan Mitchell and company got ready to welcome in the team from the Bay, whose injuries and lack of consistent scoring from role players led them to lose their last two games. On paper, this game could’ve ended in a Cavaliers blowout, but the Warriors played some great team basketball and found timely scoring to keep things interesting. They ultimately walked out of Rocket Arena with an important win, but it took every single bucket to prevent a formidable opponent from defending their home ground.
This Warrior victory started and ended with their defensive intensity. They forced Cleveland to shoot a very poor 34.6 percent, making just 37 out of a whopping 107 shots. Despite an evident size mismatch, Golden State evened out their deficit in other categories. Yes, they lost both the paint point and rebounding battles, giving up an almost insurmountable number of 24 offensive rebounds and 10 more points around the rim. However, coach Stever Kerr’s group had double the blocked shots and more steals than the Cavs. Those often possession-changing statistics showed that the bigger team doesn’t always entirely get their way.
Offensively, the Warriors have to thank an unlikely scorer in Pat Spencer tonight, who led his team in scoring for the second consecutive game. On his first career start, he scored a personal best with 19 points on an efficient 7-12 shooting. Most importantly for the Dubs, 12 of Spencer’s points came in the last quarter. With him leading the way, the Golden State fended off a late push that would’ve gone against the flow of the fourth quarter.
Mitchell tried to display for yet another time why he’s one of the league’s best closers. The Cavalier superstar led all scorers with 29 points, but on the possession that mattered most, he faced some tough Golden State defense. With a little less than eight seconds left on the clock, Gui Santos had just split a pair of free throws. The home team trailed by just three points, and following a timeout, the ball was undoubtedly inbounded straight to the hands of Mitchell. Golden State executed a perfect switch on a screen intended to free up the Louisville alumni, and Santos’ presence was just enough to slightly throw off Mitchell’s attempt. The Warriors grabbed the all-important rebound, and Spencer iced the game with two more free throws.
After this game, the Dubs climbed back up to a .500 record at 12-12. They still need a few wins to catch up to the pack behind the Oklahoma City Thunder, who’ve breezed through competition thus far with a 22-1 record. Kerr will hopefully receive reinforcements with a few key players returning from injuries, but his team needs to use this victory as a tone-setter to build drive and momentum, regardless of who’s on the floor. Up next for the white and gold, they will continue their road trip as they head to the “Windy City” to face off against the Chicago Bulls.
