Cavaliers-Warriors Script Gets Flipped In Wild Bay Area Matchup

With no lack of action, Cleveland and Golden State literally went toe-to-toe, with the Cavaliers coming out on top.

After the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Golden State Warriors 115-104 last Sunday, they hit the West Coast with a stop in Oklahoma City before flying into the Bay Area on Saturday night.

Prior to Sunday night’s victory in Cleveland, the Cavaliers had not beaten Golden State since the 2017 NBA Finals. 

The Wine and Gold once again bested the Warriors on Saturday night, this time on their home floor with a 118-110 victory.

Technicals, Ejections, And No Lack Of Action

The Cavs came out of the gates with strong momentum —pushing their largest lead up to 17 points at 64-47 late in the first half.

The team looked sharp; playing fast, sharing the ball, and forcing turnovers on the defensive end of the floor. They were frustrating Golden State, and that became evident before the end of the half.

Draymond Green received a technical foul halfway through the second quarter for arguing with an official, as both tensions and frustrations were rising.

Shortly after, he gave Donovan Mitchell a shove while the Cavaliers were on offense. Mitchell returned with a shoulder check once Green was dribbling the ball up the floor, which brought officials and coaches onto the floor in a hurry to end the skirmish before much could happen.

Nov 11, 2023; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) steals the basketball from Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) during the second quarter at Chase Center / © Neville E. Guard-USA TODAY Sports

After an official review, it was deemed that Mitchell’s shove was a common foul. 

However, the previous play gave evidence that Green instigated the incident, which resulted in his second technical and ejection for the remainder of the contest.

Cavaliers’ Max Strus Hits Milestone Against Golden State

During the first half, a new addition to the Cavaliers this season hit a noteworthy milestone in his career.

On a three-pointer with 8:08 left in the second quarter, Max Strus scored his 2,000th career point. This shot made Strus 2-for-2 from deep and gave him his eighth point of the night.

Strus finished the game with 14 points on 6-for-9 shooting from the field (2-for-3 from three-point range), along with seven rebounds and four assists for one of his better performances as a Cavalier so far.

2⃣0⃣0⃣0⃣ for Max! #LetEmKnow pic.twitter.com/8g2V1mgzGg

— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) November 12, 2023

Cavaliers Sweep Regular Season Series In Tough Matchup

After getting their second win over the Warriors within a week, it feels like the team is rising to competition, and it surely feels good to take two from a team where the rivalry still runs. 

However, the Cavs are still working on their weaknesses on the court — including figuring out rotations that work — while still working in new names and faces, and dealing with the touch-and-go nature of injuries sustained this season.

Cleveland forced an impressive 20 turnovers and allowed just 34 points in the paint in Saturday night’s contest, but their hard play resulted in foul trouble.

This limited the minutes of Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley, and Dean Wade down the stretch. Wade's night ended with back-to-back three-pointers before fouling out.

Even with three starters finishing with four fouls, head coach J.B. Bickerstaff stuck to a true eight-man rotation until the game's mop-up minutes. As a team, the Cavaliers shot 43.0% from the field and 36.7% from deep.

Cleveland improved their record to 4-5 following its regular season series sweep of Golden State. The Cavaliers have two more games on their West Coast road trip before returning home for their next In-Season Tournament game against the Detroit Pistons.