Most blowout wins don't mean much in November. However, in their 136-117 beatdown, the undefeated Cleveland Cavaliers seemed to have something to say against the Golden State Warriors. From wire to wire, the Cavs broke, tied, or made franchise history by dominating the Warriors on offense.
Cleveland opened the game on a 20-2 run, limiting Golden State to 1 of 9 from the field and 0 of 5 from 3-point range in the first four-plus minutes.
By the end of the opening frame, the Cavs were winning 39-22, and from the top of the rafters in Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, you could hear a rumbling, which only meant one thing: a Cavalanche was coming, and the Warriors couldn't stop it.
By halftime, the Cavs’ lead had exploded to a game-high 41 points, the largest halftime lead in franchise history and the eighth-largest halftime lead by any NBA team in the shot clock era.
Cleveland scored 83 first-half points, tying the team record for points in a half. The Cavs shot 65.1% from the field and 63.6% from 3-point range against the Warriors' then-No. 2-ranked defense. It also made 14 triples, the second most in any half in franchise history.
“I don’t know [how good they are],” quipped Golden State head coach Steve Kerr postgame. “I’ll leave that to the analysts. I just know they kicked our ass today.”
Heading into this matchup, it was the first time Cleveland head coach Kenny Atkinson would take on Golden State. Atkinson, who spent the last three years on Golden State's staff, took the job with Cleveland after being highly recruited for years as a Warriors assistant.
With Atkinson as an assistant, Golden State went 143-103 and won the 2021 NBA Finals. Through Kerr's guidance, Atkinson unlocked new ideas and visions for running his program.
Well, what Atkinson might've learned during his time with the Warriors he put into execution for the Cavs in this dominant victory.
The Cavs gave the Warriors a taste of their own medicine
Atkinson kept Isaac Okoro in the starting lineup even though Dean Wade was available to play. That was the conventional choice. Typically, teams want their best perimeter defender on the court against Stephen Curry at all times. But that wasn’t how he was deployed. Okoro was instead guarding Draymond Green, and Darius Garland drew the Curry assignment.
Curry does most of his action away from the play with Green moving the ball through his passing or screening. Putting Okoro on Green limited his ability, making Golden State's offense go haywire and a taste of their own medicine.
This allowed the Cavs to roar to a 20-2 lead, firing away from all over the perimeter just like the Warriors are known to do. Atkinson had star guard Darius Garland playing off the ball, using Garland's movement and elusive speed to keep Golden State constantly moving on defense.
He also empowered big man Evan Mobley to act as Cleveland's Draymond Green, relying on Mobley to act as a lynchpin on offense through his screening and passing.
It was the ultimate recipe for success for the Cavs. Garland finished the evening with a team-high 27 points and six assists. Mobley, meanwhile, once again flirted with a triple-double, further drawing comparisons to Green. In roughly 26 minutes of action, Mobley had 24 points, four rebounds, four assists and two blocks.
Mobley had his fingerprints all over this game and, in turn, helped lead the Cavs to a historic 10-0 start. As good as they’ve been, Cleveland knows they don’t give out a trophy for the best team in November. But in a decisive statement win like this, it's hard to ignore that the Cavs are, without a doubt, the best team in the NBA.
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