Warriors-Cavaliers rivalry now lopsided
The teams that have battled each other in three straight NBA Finals will square off Monday in their second meeting in less than a month. This time, though, the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers find themselves farther apart than at any time since this rivalry was born three and a half seasons ago.
The Warriors are flying high, with the league’s best record and wins in 20 of their last 23 games. The Cavaliers, meanwhile, are struggling, with losses in three straight and seven of nine.
“You could win a hundred straight games and face the Warriors and there are still challenges,” LeBron James said.
That may be true — but if the Cavaliers don’t improve their play Monday, it may take them 100 attempts to beat the Warriors.
How bad has Cleveland been? A demolition at the hands of Minnesota was followed by a 34-point shellacking in Toronto before the Cavs blew a 22-point lead and lost to the Indiana Pacers Friday. The biggest red flag of all: Cleveland’s completely inept defence, which ranks 29th of the 30 NBA teams.
While Cleveland is still trying to find itself, Golden State is on a 12-game road winning streak after completing a road back-to-back with victories over Milwaukee on Friday and Toronto on Saturday.
The Warriors welcomed back Steph Curry, who sat out two games with a sprained right ankle, by scoring 81 points in the first half against Toronto.
While Golden State fell asleep in the second half, allowing Toronto to nearly storm back from a 27-point halftime deficit, the Warriors managed to make enough plays — including a crucial Kevin Durant pull-up jumper with 21.8 seconds left — to ensure that road winning streak stayed intact heading to Quicken Loans Arena.
“Obviously our history with Cleveland, you want to get a win, you want to try to send a message,” Curry said. “That’s an interesting building, and I’ve had some ups and downs in there, so I’m looking forward to the battle.”