Cleveland looks to end Warriors’ dominance over Cavs
Two teams coming off visits to Brooklyn with vastly different experiences go head-to-head Thursday night when the Cleveland Cavaliers host the Golden State Warriors.
The game will be the second in two nights for the injury- and illness-ravaged Cavaliers, who were thumped 109-99 by the Nets on Wednesday.
Brooklyn had taken the court still stinging from a 117-99 drubbing absorbed courtesy of the Warriors on Tuesday night.
The three-team round robin of sorts concludes in Cleveland, where the Warriors have enjoyed more than their fair share of success over the years.
Golden State will tip off with the best record in the NBA at 12-2 as it pursues a fourth title in eight years. The first three of those championships came at the expense of the Cavaliers in the 2015, 2017 and 2018 Finals.
The Warriors have captured the last three regular-season games on Cleveland’s home court in this series, including 119-101 last April.
Golden State coach Steve Kerr isn’t thinking NBA Finals just 14 games into the season, but does like the path his team has taken so far this year.
“It’s fun to be back in the spotlight again,” he assured after Tuesday’s nationally televised win. “Our team is really enjoying being back here.”
The spotlight surely has been following Stephen Curry, an Akron, Ohio, native whose dad, Dell, played for the Cavaliers. Just 101 days after Stephen Curry was born, Dell was plucked from Cleveland by the Charlotte Hornets in the NBA expansion draft, prompting the family to move south.
Stephen Curry enjoyed his last three Ohio regular-season homecomings, leading the Warriors to three wins by averaging 32.7 points. He had 33 in Golden State’s triumph last April.
The Cavaliers got 25 points from Ricky Rubio and 24 from Darius Garland in Wednesday’s loss at Brooklyn, but couldn’t overcome the absences of Collin Sexton (torn meniscus in left knee), Evan Mobley (sprained right elbow), Jarrett Allen (illness) and Lauri Markkanen (COVID-related).
Cleveland has left the…
Source : yahoo
