With another clutch shot, Kyrie Irving took the Warriors on a trip down memory lane.
Irving dropped a short, turnaround jumper over Klay Thompson with 3.4 seconds left as the Cleveland Cavaliers rallied just the way they did in June’s NBA Finals to defeat Golden State 109-108 on Sunday in a marquee Christmas matchup that more than lived up to the hype.
Down by 14 early in the fourth quarter, the Cavs chipped away and then put the ball in the hands of Irving, whose step-back 3-pointer over Stephen Curry on 19 June helped seal Game 7 and gave Cleveland its first major pro sports championship since 1964.
This time, Irving went deep in the lane before spinning and making his shot over Thompson, one of the league’s best defenders.
“The kid is special,” LeBron James said of his teammate. “It was never in doubt.”
Golden State had one last chance but Kevin Durant, who led all scorers with 36 points in his first game in the league’s hottest rivalry, lost his balance coming off a screen and couldn’t get off a shot as time expired.
Durant felt he was fouled by Richard Jefferson.
“I was trying to make a move,” he said. “I didn’t fall on my own.”
James scored 31 points with a season-high 13 rebounds, Irving added 25 points and Kevin Love 20 for the Cavs, who were down 3-1 in the Finals before storming back to stun a Warriors team that won 73 games during the regular season, but came up one victory short of winning their second straight title.
Thompson added 24, Draymond Green 16 and Curry 15 – on 4 of 11 shooting – for the Warriors, who had their winning streak stopped at seven and fell to 9-1 against Eastern Conference teams.
The biggest present under the tree for basketball fans this holiday was filled with drama, intensity and more than a few moments that sparked reminders of last season’s brilliant finals.
“’It lived up to what everyone wanted it to,” James said.
Irving drained a 3 from the wing that looked a lot like the one he made on June 19, but his bucket over Thompson had a higher degree of difficulty.
“That’s a really hard shot,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “I thought Klay played tremendous defense. You don’t do anything different.”
The Warriors set up a game-winning chance for Durant, but he stumbled with pressure applied by Jefferson and fell to the floor and watched helplessly as Cleveland’s fans roared and Cavs coach Tyronn Lue clapped and screamed.
“We all think we’re fouled on every play in every single game,” Jefferson said. “That’s why I say I know the referees have a very hard job. I switched to his body. He looked like he lost his balance. He was trying to regain his balance and as soon as I saw him start to stumble, I ran off.”
The teams will meet again 16 January and then not again unless they make it back to the Finals – a “three-quel” that would be the first in league history.
To remind their guests of what happened in June, the Cavs left a door propped open just down the hallway from Golden State’s locker room where a large photo of James’ game-changing, career-defining block of Andre Iguodala in Game 7 was on display.
The picture had been doctored with a Cavs championship ring taped over James’ left index finger.
If there was any doubt that this game meant more than the other 81 to both squads and fan bases, Green took care of that in the opening minutes.
After being called for his second personal foul, Green stormed off the floor, cursing with every step on his way to the bench. Green, whose suspension from Game 5 of the Finals helped swing the series to Cleveland, was slapped with a technical and several of his teammates came over to calm him down before things got worse.
LA Lakers 111, LA Clippers 102
The Los Angeles Lakers feel like they’ve spent at least a month short-handed due to injuries and weary from an extraordinarily grinding schedule.
When they finally found an opponent with even more ailments and exhaustion, the Lakers didn’t waste the opportunity to snap an embarrassing rivalry losing streak.
Nick Young and Timofey Mozgov scored 19 points apiece and the Lakers ended their 11-game skid against the Los Angeles Clippers with a 111-102 victory Sunday night.
Lou Williams and D’Angelo Russell added 14 points each for the Lakers, who hadn’t beaten their Staples Center co-tenants since opening night of the 2013-14 season. The streak was tied for the Lakers’ longest against any team since moving to Los Angeles a half-century ago, and it was the Clippers’ longest active winning streak against any opponent.
With Clippers cornerstones Blake Griffin and Chris Paul sidelined by injuries, the Lakers won with a season-high seven scorers in double digits.
“It was needed, it was,” Lakers coach Luke Walton said. “It felt good to get this one back home. It’s been a tough couple of weeks, and we had to come together to win that one.”
The Lakers surged from a halftime deficit to an 18-point lead during a dynamite third quarter for their second win in 14 games. They also won on Christmas for the 22nd time, matching the Knicks’ NBA record.
“A win is a win, and nobody makes excuses for us when we have guys down,” Williams said. “We got stops in the third quarter, and we were able to put a few (baskets) together. We were the most aggressive team coming out of the locker room.”
JJ Redick scored 22 points before sitting out the fourth quarter with a sore left hamstring for the Clippers, who couldn’t overcome the absence of their two best players and top scorers in just their third loss in nine games. Griffin is out for at least a month after right knee surgery, while Paul was a late scratch for the second straight game with a left hamstring strain.
Jamal Crawford also scored 22 points, and DeAndre Jordan had seven points, 10 rebounds and a career-high six assists as the Clippers played the fourth of eight games in a 12-day stretch.
“We understand there’s going to be times like this, weeks like this,” said Marreese Speights, who scored 15 points. “We just have to fight through it and be a better team.”
Oklahoma City 112, Minnesota 100
Russell Westbrook had 31 points and 15 assists to help the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 112-100 on Sunday night.
Westbrook had 10 assists in the second half to help Oklahoma City take control, although he fell short of becoming the first Thunder player to score at least 40 points in four straight games.
Steven Adams scored 22 points and Enes Kanter added 20 points for the Thunder, who shot 51.2% while winning their third straight.
Karl-Anthony Towns scored 26 points and Andrew Wiggins had 23 points for the Timberwolves. Minnesota had won three of five, including wins at Chicago and Atlanta.
Semaj Christon’s 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer gave the Thunder a 57-53 lead.
Westbrook had 17 points at halftime, then made 4 for 6 shots and dished out five assists in the third quarter. Adams added 12 points in the third to help Oklahoma City take an 86-75 edge into the fourth.
Westbrook’s driving layup and free throw pushed the Thunder’s advantage to 99-86 midway through the fourth, and his lob to Adams for a one-handed dunk pushed Oklahoma City’s lead to 16.
San Antonio 119, Chicago 100
LaMarcus Aldridge had a season-high 33 points and the San Antonio Spurs held on to beat the Chicago Bulls 119-100 on Sunday after nearly blowing a hot start.
Kawhi Leonard added 25 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. Tony Parker had 13 points and eight assists.
Chicago rallied from a 20-point deficit to lead by three points midway through the third quarter but could not sustain the push, taking its third straight loss.
Parker had nine points in the final quarter while San Antonio improved to 9-4 at home after losing three of its first four at the AT&T Center.
Dwyane Wade led the Bulls with 24 points, including 10 in the final quarter. Jimmy Butler added 19 points, and every Chicago starter except Rajon Rondo scored in double figures. Rondo was held to six points and two assists in 30 minutes.
The Spurs shot 82% while taking a 36-25 lead through one quarter. San Antonio doubled its lackluster 17-point opening quarter in its first meeting with Chicago on 8 December.
San Antonio looked for Aldridge early, assisting on his first four field goals on a series of mid-range jumpers. Aldridge made his first nine attempts while scoring 20 points in the opening period, his most in any quarter with the Spurs.
Aldridge made his first 11 attempts, finishing 15 for 20 from the field.
With Aldridge rolling, Leonard hit consecutive 3-pointers for a 14-3 lead.
The All-Star duo combined for 41 points in the opening period, but the Bulls kept pace with a balanced scoring effort fueled by their bench.
Reserve forward Nikola Mirotic had 11 points, including three 3-pointers, two steals and four rebounds in the first half. Jerian Grant added five points and two steals.
Butler’s 3-pointer gave Chicago its first lead at 70-67 with 5 minutes remaining in the third.
San Antonio regained its double-digit lead at 95-82 on consecutive 3-pointers by Danny Green with Wade shaking his head after running over late to defend.
Boston 119, New York 114
Isaiah Thomas scored 27 points, Marcus Smart made a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 47 seconds left after Boston blew a late lead, and the Celtics beat the New York Knicks 119-114 on Sunday.
The Knicks wiped out a late nine-point deficit with an out-of-nowhere 11-2 run in a little more than a minute, but Smart answered with his shot and Avery Bradley and Al Horford made big defensive plays afterward.
Jae Crowder and Kelly Olynyk each had 16 points for the Celtics, who won for the fifth time in six games.
Carmelo Anthony scored 29 points and Derrick Rose had 25 for the Knicks, who fell to 22-29 in their NBA-record 51 Christmas appearances.
The Knicks led for much of the first half before Crowder made three straight 3-pointers as Boston surged into the lead en route to a 56-48 halftime advantage. The Celtics rarely built the lead much bigger in the second half, but also never let the Knicks make much of a dent in it, always coming up with some stops and points whenever it got within a couple of possessions.
Suddenly Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis scored all the points in the run that tied it at 112 on Anthony’s layup with 1:06 to play, but Boston wasn’t rattled.
The Celtics worked it around to Smart for his 3, and Bradley forced Anthony to turn it over on New York’s next possession. Thomas hit a free throw to make it a four-point game and it stayed that way when Horford blocked Porzingis’ shot.
The Knicks have lost their last four Christmas games. Their last victory in the holiday was in 2011 over the Celtics in what was the NBA season opener following a lockout.
View all comments >