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OAKLAND – A smile formed on Kevin Durant’s face as if he received his best Christmas gift yet. The Warriors’ forward pumped his chest passionately. Durant wagged his right index finger ferociously. Then, Durant clapped his hands repeatedly.
Durant had just performed something that he considered an impossible task earlier this week. Durant stopped LeBron James. The Cleveland forward drove past Durant at the top of the key. James went up for a shot. And then Durant extended his 6-foot-9 frame and seemingly infinite wingspan to stuff James at the rim.
Plenty of plays led up to the Warriors securing a 99-92 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday at Oracle Arena. Durant’s block, though, represented what Warriors coach Steve Kerr considered a “huge” reason why the Warriors (27-7) spent their work day basking in holiday cheer nearly 18 months after giving the Cavaliers (24-10) some coal in the form of an NBA Finals defeat. The Warriors led, 95-92, with 26.5 seconds left when Durant stopped James. Warriors guard Klay Thompson then kept the lead intact with making all four of his free-throws on the next two possessions.
“You can’t stop those guys; they’re going to make good plays and get shots over you and get to the rim,” said Durant, who had 25 points on 8-of-19 shooting, seven rebounds, five blocks and three assists. “It’s a full game you got to put together. You can’t get discouraged. I try to play hard every second I’m out there.”
So in a game that featured nine ties and seven lead changes, the Warriors clocked in to a work on a day most take off to enjoy the holiday.
In what marked his first of potentially many starts even with center Zaza Pachulia on the active roster, Warriors forward Jordan Bell compensated for two late-game turnovers with a rebound off Durant’s missed 3-point attempt. Kerr considered the play a turning point considering Bell passed the ball back to Warriors forward Draymond Green to set up Thompson for an open 3-pointer.
Not only did Thompson drain the shot to give the Warriors a 95-92 lead with 1:33 remaining. The play captured Thompson’s improved efficiency. He finished with 24 points while shooting 8-of-15 from the field and 4-of-7 from 3-point range, two days after shooting 6-of-24 from the field and 1-of-10 from the perimeter against Denver.
“I just had to let it go. It was that simple,” Thompson said. “That was a team effort right there. I try to take great shots. It doesn’t really change from the rest of the game. You want to be patient and you want to get a great look every time.”
It appeared James would have a good look on every possession. Then Durant picked up James outside of the perimeter. Just when James drove left toward the basket, he lost control of the ball. James also fell to the ground, with replays showing some contact with Durant before taking the fall.
“It felt clean. The same dudes that are arguing on Twitter are probably at [the local gym] saying that wasn’t a foul,” Durant said. “They’ve been in a position before, but not on Christmas at Oracle Arena.”
It was not too long ago that Durant and his teammates felt similar frustration earlier in the game.
Durant heard plenty of whistles against him. He was called for two offensive fouls and a carry. Durant was then called for a technical with 6:32 left in the first quarter. After Cavaliers guard Jose Calderon and Durant nearly a minute later, Green was charged for a technical as well.
“I asked, ‘How can he yell in his face like that and not get a tech?’” Green said of Calderon. “That’s crazy to me. That looked like a shouting match between an umpire and manager.”
So after the Warriors collected six of their 15 turnovers, two technicals and three missed defensive assignments midway through the first quarter, Warriors coach Steve Kerr tried to calm his team down.
“I shouldn’t say we weren’t ready,” Kerr said. “But we were too amped up in trying to push the tempo too much.”
Soon enough, Kerr observed the Warriors for playing with “more energy and more fun.”
Though the Cavaliers shot 15-of-36 (41.7 percent) from 3-point range and collected 19 offensive rebounds, the Warriors held Cleveland to a 28-of-88 mark from the field (31.8 percent). In his third game back from a sore right shoulder injury, Green posted his 20th career triple double with 12 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists in a performance Kerr called “phenomenal.” And on a night he had 20 points albeit on 7-of-18 shooting, James could not score past Durant in his last three possessions.
Once those moments ended, Durant reacted with the same enthusiasm as most children showed on Monday morning.
“It’s Christmas and so many people are here and happy,” Durant said. “There’s so much joy in the arena today because it’s Christmas. We feed off of that. The spirit moves us.”
