The Cleveland Cavaliers were not able to keep up with the visiting Golden State Warriors as they lost by a score of 119-101.
Heading into this game there was one area that was highlighted as difference maker, three-pointers. The Cavaliers are one of the worst teams in the NBA in this department while the Warriors are towards the top. Golden State drained 17 of 46 attempts from deep while Cleveland only made 10 of 31. Some simple math shows that the 21 point advantage in this area was more than the Cavs lost by.
The Cavs kept up in the 1st quarter, actually leading by 3 points. Golden State turned things on in the 2nd with a 35-21 advantage, propelling the Warriors to a large lead. The 3rd quarter was a bit more competitive with the Cavaliers again scoring more than the Warriors (27-26), but Golden State was able to close things out quite comfortably as the game comes to a close.
Sexton scores big, but does it matter?
Collin Sexton scored a team-high 30 points on a 10-19 shooting effort, making 3 of 5 shots from deep and going 7-10 at the free throw line. The issue is that the Sexton’s +/- for the game was -29. This seems to be a recurring problem for Sexton as the Cavaliers seem to find themselves down quite often. Not that this is all on Sexton, just something to monitor.
Garland struggles from the field
Just like his backcourt partner, Darius Garland had a rough shooting night. Garland went 7-20 and missed 5 of his 7 three-point attempts. The second year guard did score 20 points, but the inefficient shooting is a concern. Garland did have a team-high 7 assists on the night.
Double-double for Allen
The Cavaliers big man did make his second start since coming back and was able to put together a 17-point, 14 rebound double-double. Allen was efficient from the field and the free throw line, making 6 of 7 field goal attempts and 5-6 free throws.
