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The Cleveland Cavaliers continued their perfect start to the NBA season in sensational style on Friday, seizing a 41-point half-time lead on the way to a blowout of the Golden State Warriors. The Cavs improved to 10-0 after lighting up Golden State 136-117, ending the Warriors' five-game winning streak and handing them their first road defeat of the season.
The damage was done early, with the Cavs' 83 first-half points tying a franchise record for most scored in any half and their 41-point half-time lead the biggest in team history. Against the Warriors' second-ranked defense, they posted their fifth game of the young season with at least 130 points - tying a team record for the most 130-plus point games for an entire season. "Ten-0 is a magic number," Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said. "We're playing really good basketball and I'm just really pleased where the group is. I was worried about tonight - they're 7-1 and rolling and they're coming in here, they're champions and they're going to try and knock our block off."
Darius Garland scored 27 points, Evan Mobley added 23 and Ty Jerome chipped in 20 off the bench as six Cavs players scored in double figures against a Warriors defense that came in ranked second in the league. Meanwhile, they kept the potentially explosive Warriors offence in check, opening the game on a 20-2 scoring run. "The way we came out tonight - that surprised me, how ready we were, how hungry we were," Atkinson said. Andrew Wiggins with nine points and Stephen Curry with seven were the only Warriors starters to score before the break.
Golden State were able to adjust after the break, outscoring the Cavs 41-29 in the third quarter. "First half, can't play much better than that," Atkinson said. "But second half, way we came out, they scored 13 points in the first three minutes. It was a little frustrating." The Warriors, however, were in too deep of a hole.
Jonathan Kuminga led Golden State with 21 points off the bench, Curry finished with 12 on five-of-10 shooting, making just one from three-point range. "We've got to execute better," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "Thirteen turnovers in the first half - we were completely disorganized."
