Credit: AP Photo/Tony Dejak)
Christmas Day’s Golden State Warriors vs. Cleveland Cavaliers matchup was a battle for the ages. The two teams met in the NBA Finals in back-to-back years, and Kyrie Irving—once again—worked his magic in the clutch, winning the game for Cleveland.
Though they were in it the entire way, Golden State could have ran away with the game if it weren’t for the the sky high number of turnovers they committed. The Warriors had 20 total turnovers—Draymond Green committing six of his own. LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and the rest of the Cavaliers team capitalized on Golden State’s mistakes scoring 21 points off the 20 total turnovers.
“A lot of [the turnovers] early was not even due to the pressure,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said. “It was more just decision-making. Around-the-back passes in the paint, silly plays. We just have to make simple plays, and we talk about that all the time, but we’ve got to make it more of a habit.”
Golden State had a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter, yet couldn’t hold on. The reigning champs ended up stealing a narrow win, 109-108.
“We had a chance to put them away, for sure,” coach Kerr added. “Too many turnovers. But we had control of the game and we did not execute at all in the fourth quarter. It was a great tape to look at. It will be quite valuable for us to look at that tape, because we know we let it slip away.”
With a record of 27 wins and five losses, Golden State remains atop the Western Conference standings. But, if the all-star studded lineup continues making a vast number of mistakes, they may lose key games where it truly counts.
