For twelve minutes everything was going the Cleveland Cavaliers’ way. They led the Golden State Warriors 30-18, the same Warriors team that had started a 7-game road trip 1-4 and had lost 6-of-7 overall.
Then the wheels came off.
The Cavaliers were outscored 58-35 in the 2nd and 3rd quarters as the Warriors dominated the Cavaliers 95-85. Stephen Curry and Monta Ellis combined for 47 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists.
Ellis provided most of the spark in the second half when he hit a career-high six three pointers on his was to 24 points. Curry added 23 points.
The lowlight of the night was another finger injury, this time to J.J. Hickson who dislocated the little finger on his left hand trying to catch a pass in the 4th quarter. By then, the damage on the scoreboard was done as the Cavaliers simply had no answer for Curry or Ellis.
Baron Davis led the Cavaliers with 19 points off the bench while backup center Ryan Hollins added 14 points for Cleveland. Cavs’ starters combined to score just 39 points compared to 72 points for Golden State’s starting five.
Cleveland shot just 36% from the field and committed 17 turnovers in a sloppy effort that has resurfaced after a period of solid play.
Cavaliers guard Daniel Gibson returned to the lineup after missing the last three games with a quad injury but had little impact, scoring 3 points on 1-5 shooting in 24 minutes.
Cleveland has little time to think about their effort tonight. They’ll be getting on a plane and flying to Milwaukee to face the Bucks tomorrow night at the Bradley Center.