Cavs Dominate Warriors behind Stellar Performance for LeBron James

In a battle between two of the best teams in the NBA, the Golden State Warriors entered Thursday night's game against the Cleveland Cavaliers with the best record in the league at 44-10. Primed to increase their position in the Eastern Conference, LeBron James and the Cavs sought to earn a major win that would continue their impressive streak and knock off the league's top team. The Cavaliers entered on a 9-game winning streak and are arguably the league's hottest team at this time of the season. The first quarter of the game was led by the Warriors as they utilized their ability to score points in transition and weaken the Cavs defensively. James was the early standout for Cleveland as he went 6/8 from the field, good for 14 first quarter points. The second quarter cruised by with tight defense, including several blocks from Warriors F Klay Thompson and at halftime, the Cavaliers carried a five point lead into the locker room. The second half was truly dominated by James and his Cavaliers as they picked up all momentum and ran with it, even leading by 16 at some points. During the third quarter, the Cavs experienced a setback. Star PG Kyrie Irving injured his shoulder and went to the locker room for further examination. Irving's injury will likely keep him from playing in the Cavaliers next game on Friday against the Pacers. The Cavaliers continued to take it to Golden State with their rapid fire offense and working the ball around for terrific looks from three point range. The score was definitely not indicative of the game as the Cavaliers dominated the Warriors in nearly every category such as free throw shooting (82.9% as a team) and securing many more rebounds. LeBron James has now worked his way back into MVP conversations with this fantastic showing as he finished with 42 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, and three steals in 36 minutes. Irving and Kevin Love combined for 40 points for the Cavs and C Timofey Mozgov pitched in a double-double (10 points, 10 rebounds) in the victory. Riding a ten-game winning streak, the Cavaliers are making a statement to the league despite their early struggles and showing that they are a force to be reckoned with at 37-22. For Golden State, MVP favorite PG Steph Curry scored 18 points and dished out 6 assists, Draymond Green scored 16 points in a whopping 38 minutes, and PF David Lee was the spark plug off the bench for the Warriors as he chipped in a team-high 19 points. Warriors Steve Kerr also received his eighth technical foul of the season, which ranks second-most among NBA head coaches behind only Frank Vogel in Indiana. Coming up, Golden State plays at Toronto on Friday night, while the Cavaliers travel to Indiana to play the Pacers.