LeBron James drove to the basket in the waning seconds and Kevin Durant swatted away any chance Cleveland had at a Christmas Day comeback.
Durant pumped his fist again and again, emphatically shook his head and pounded his chest in delight. It looked a lot like the dominant Durant from the NBA Finals six months ago.
Klay Thompson on Monday hit a go-ahead three-pointer with 1 minute, 33 seconds left and Durant delivered on both ends as the Golden State Warriors beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 99-92 in a festive holiday rematch of the past three Finals.
Photo: AFP
“There’s just so much joy in the arena today, because it’s Christmas and we all feed off of that,” Durant said.
Durant’s block against a driving James with 24.5 seconds left went to official review and was ruled clean. Durant finished with 25 points, seven rebounds and five blocked shots.
Kevin Love had 31 points and a season-best 18 rebounds, while James had 20 points, six rebounds and six assists in a rivalry missing one key piece: Warriors star Stephen Curry, who missed his eighth straight game with a sprained right ankle.
It was Golden State’s 12th win in 13 games after their 11-game winning streak was snapped on Saturday night.
The up-tempo, running rivals provided high entertainment as always and will see each other again soon on Jan. 15 in Cleveland.
Durant requested James for his defensive assignment, about which he simply said: “I just like guarding my position.”
The Cavs, having won six of seven, had their run of scoring at least 100 points end at 26 games.
The Warriors were at nearly full strength again aside from Curry, who could return this week once he goes through some scrimmages at practice.
The Cavs’ 31.8 percent shooting was the lowest by a Warriors opponent in nearly four years, since Charlotte shot 31.2 percent from the field on Feb. 4, 2014.
“We just didn’t make shots,” Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said.
Sure, this one felt a little strange without Curry or Kyrie Irving, now in Boston.
“Golden State-Cavaliers, that’s a big game, no matter who’s playing, who’s out,” Lue said.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr knows just the uniforms are enough to get everyone going — and this marked the third straight Christmas matchup between the franchises.
“It’s always great to play the Cavs,” Kerr said. “LeBron is so amazing and it’s so fun to feel the energy in the building when the two teams get together. Neither team will look the same as we will even a month from now, because Steph [Curry] and Isaiah Thomas both should be back ... but it doesn’t even matter sometimes, just the two uniforms in the same building gets people going.”
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