HOLIDAY OF HOOP STARS

Warriors top Cavs in Finals rematch to highlight 5-game schedule.

Draymond OAKLAND, CALIF.— Green had 22 points and 15 rebounds and the Golden StateWarriors got defensive in their NBA Finals rematch against Cleveland, beating the Cavaliers 89-83 on Friday.

Stephen Curry added 19 points and Klay Thompson had 18 for theWarriors, who improved to 28-1 by winning their 32nd straight regular-season home game. Instead of doing it with 3-pointers, defending champion Golden State maintained its edge over Cleveland by limiting the Cavaliers to 32 percent shooting.

LeBron James scored 25 points to lead the Cavaliers, who had their sixgame winning streak snapped.

The Cavaliers also were short-handed when they lost the final to theWarriors in six games, missing power forward Kevin Love the entire series with a shoulder injury and losing point guard Kyrie Irving to a knee injury late in the first game.

Having both those players healthy for the rematch did little to help Cleveland. Love scored just 10 points on 5-for16 shooting, and Irving missed 11 of his 15 shots in a 13-point game.

With those two struggling, theWarriors built a 10-point lead midway through the fourth quarter following a jumper by Thompson and a layup from Green.

But James responded with a pair of dunks and blocked a shot by Thompson before Love’s tipin made it 81-77 with just over 2 minutes to play.

James missed two free throws after Cleveland got another stop and Curry responded with a pair of layups around J.R. Smith’s 3-pointer to make it 85-80 with 57.6 seconds to play.

James shot an air ball from 3 with 12.7 seconds to play to end Cleveland’s comeback attempt.

There was an increased intensity at the start of the seventh Christmas Day rematch of the previous season’s finals with fans on edge far more than for most regular season games.

The officials let both teams play through contact early and theWarriors built a 28-19 lead after one behind 10 points and six rebounds from Green.

But the Cavaliers picked up the defense in the second quarter against Golden State’s reserves, taking advantage of an extended absence from Curry who get his strained right calf re-taped in the locker room. TheWarriors led 45-42 at the half.

Noteworthy: Cleveland started a stretch of 10 road games in 12 contests. ... Golden State saw its streak of 47 straight regular-season home games with at least 100 points snapped. ... Shaun Livingston scored a season-high 16 points off the bench.

ALONZOADAMS / ASSOCIATED PRESS MARCIO JOSE SANCHEZ / ASSOCIATED PRESS Chicago’s Derrick Rose looks for a pass as Oklahoma City’s Enes Kanter applies defensive pressure during the visiting Bulls’ 105-96 victory. Rose finishedwith 19 points, while Kanter scored 14 offthe bench. LeBronJames runs into the defense...

JOELAUERBACH / ASSOCIATED PRESS Miami’s Chris Boshworks hisway to the basket againstNewOrleans’Ryan Anderson during the hostHeat’s 94-88OTvictory. Bosh had 30 points and 10 rebounds.

THEARONW. HENDERSON / GETTY IMAGES Golden State’s Draymond Green (23) tries to stop Cleveland’s LeBronJames in the air during Friday afternoon’s game at OracleArena inOakland, Calif.