Site Navigation
Short-handed Warriors hang tough, but fall in Cleveland 108 - 114
Nov 17, 2009
This was no time for Golden State to be playing a team that believes it can be the best in the league. And sure enough, Cleveland raced to a 114-108 victory over the Warriors in front of 20,562 Tuesday at Quicken Loans Arena. For the Warriors, you knew this was coming. They traded Stephen Jackson and his 16 points per game to Charlotte on Monday. One of the guys whom they received in return, forward Raja Bell, had to sit out with a bum wrist. The other, forward Vladimir Radmanovic, was forced to start. In all, the Warriors had just eight players in uniform. Bell's injury actually made it seven. On top of all that, there are now reports the team is looking to ship out starting guard Monta Ellis. It's no wonder Warriors coach Don Nelson sat alone in a cramped office before the game, wearing the look of a man who had been standing in the rain for hours, only to learn he was waiting at the wrong bus stop. But afterward, he wore the look of surprise. Or at least as much of a surprised look as the typically stoic coach would wear.
"We were undermanned, but I thought the guys played together and did a pretty good job," Nelson said. "I've got no complaints." Nelson's delight was understandable considering the Warriors had to line up against LeBron James and a Cavaliers team that has now won eight of nine, including five in a row. Especially when you take into account the Warriors trailed 66-55 at halftime, but just 107-106 with three minutes left in the game. "(But) we had three turnovers there at the end that kind of took the wind out of our sails," Nelson said. One was a rookie mistake by Stephen Curry, who simply lost the ball on an otherwise solid night (14 points on 6-for-10 shooting, seven assists). Another was an errant pass from Corey Maggette (19 points, 11 rebounds), and a traveling violation, also on Maggette. All three took place in the final 1:52. And as anyone who has seen the Cavs understands, you only get so many chances. No one proved that better than their two best players of the night -- as James found up-and-coming forward J.J. Hickson for an alley-oop with 1:49 to go. It resulted in a dunk for Hickson and a final reason to move on for the Warriors. "It was a tough game because of Golden State's style of play," said Cavs coach Mike Brown. "It's fast-paced, they play with a lot of small lineups and they do a lot of different things that are a little unorthodox. It's a tough matchup for us, and I'm sure it's a tough matchup for everyone else. It wasn't pretty, but we found a way to close the game and get the W."
The Cavs were somewhat short-handed themselves, as Shaquille O'Neal (shoulder) missed his second consecutive game. Also, top reserve Anderson Varejao sat out with a hip contusion, and forward Jamario Moon left the game in the third with a sprained ankle. Still, the Cavs had James and Hickson, which these days seems to be good enough. James finished with 31 points, 12 assists and five rebounds; Hickson had 21 points (including 18 in the first half) and nine boards. Most impressively, he made all nine of his field-goal attempts. The two put in plenty of work together during the summer, and the results have been good so far. After all, the Cavs have yet to lose a game this season in which Hickson starts (5-0). "He has helped me a lot," Hickson said of James, particularly when it comes to their newfound success running the basic pick-and-roll. "It started over the summer and it's been carrying over. He draws so much attention coming off the pick-and-roll because he can turn the corner, and it's leaving me wide open. It's just easy basketball."
Ellis (23 points, eight assists) had another magnificent night for the Warriors. Anthony Morrow tacked on 18 points and Anthony Randolph had 13 off the bench. Mo Williams and Daniel Gibson offered underrated performances for the Cavs, finishing with 16 and 13 points, respectively. Williams added a season-high eight rebounds. The game also marked the return of Delonte West (two points, two assists) following another brief absence for Cleveland. The Cavs have made 47 percent of their 3-pointers (44-for-92) during their five-game winning streak.