Recap: Golden State 120, Cleveland 114 (Nostalgia, Nwaba, Sexton, and Steph)

“Relax and drink more Beer.” That was Steve’s advice to Channing when the big man was struggling with his shot. The air was thick with that kind of nostalgia as the Cavaliers stepped onto the court to face the Warriors for the last time at Oracle arena. Fred and A.C. remarked how the visitor’s locker room still smelled like champagne from 2016, and Kevin Love and Channing Frye spent a portion of the pregame retelling the oral history of game seven. The Dubs will move across the bay next year, and it’s strange how this season became a swan song for a guy who had few on court contributions for the Cavaliers in the finals and so many off court contributions. This game was all about celebrating Channing Frye.

Pregame tribute video for Channing Frye shown on the jumbotron at Oracle. Steve Kerr watching it with Frye. They start cracking up when it says Frye is “proudly among top 800 scorers ever.” pic.twitter.com/ycuwjvwj9a

— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) April 6, 2019

Channing Frye’s last road game turned into a surprisingly competitive contest as the Cavs were without Kevin Love and the Dubs were without DeMarcus Cousins and Andre Igoudala. The Cavs hung within ten points of the Warriors for most of the game, until the Dubs and the mean mugging Steph Curry pushed the lead out to 21 in the late third. Somehow, and mostly behind the energy of David Nwaba and the relentless offensive pressure of Collin Sexton, Cleveland cut the lead to three on the strength of a 19-6 run, before the Warriors called a timeout at the 2:52 mark.

Draymond Green set up a left wing quickfire triple for Steph Curry who canned it at the two minute mark, and Larry Drew ignored the offensive floundering of the Cavs and eschewed using his timeouts till the closing seconds and the game was out of reach to preserve the tank.

Collin Sexton struggled mightily in the first half, going 1-8 and -18 and guiding the Cavs to a 6-20 mark from three while Steph Curry used constant movement of driving, dishing, and re-positioning for a look drop 23 and +19 on the rook. But in the final 24 minutes, Sexton scored 20 on 13 shots as he was driving in transition and using screens from Larry Nance and TT to get to the rack, to go along with an economical 2-4 from downtown. Sexton scored nine in the fourth and caught the Dubs off guard with his relentless attack (against their mostly sleepy defense). Most encouraging for Sexton was his play in the pick and roll, where he found Thompson and Nance around the basket, and even punished the Dubs for going under with a timely three-ball late.

Sexton finished with 27, four dimes, and zero turnovers, but faltered after the three minute mark when Coach Drew hung him out to dry against a set defense, and Collin settled for an iso three-brick. As he grows he should be able to learn to lead in these moments. Sexton had a couple hustle steals in transition, and his play of the game came when he stole a pass and raced up the left wing to bury a three at the 4:29 mark, oh and the time he beat Klay Thompson for a baseline reverse to cut the Dubs lead to three late.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrC8MAZfQMg

Yeah, Collin had a nice bounceback game, as did Cedi Osman who looked especially good attacking in transition, but Cedi went 1-6 from downtown and forced some shots on his way to 15-6-2, but it was the Cavs’ other guards whose rough shooting nights probably doomed them more than anything. Brandon Knight and Jordan Clarkson combined to shoot 7-25 and 2-11 from downtown in 31+ minutes each. But they were only a combined -2 on the night. They were also a part of Cleveland’s solid 21 assist, five turnover outing.

The Cavs’ big men came to play. Nance, Thompson, and Zizic combined for 37 points on 26 shots. All three looked solid around the basket against the DeMarcus-less Dubs, and Zizic, especially showed great timing in the pick and roll, and exhibited superior footwork and finishing against the Warriors’ bench. Larry Nance was a loose ball grabbing machine and flashed a nice all around game with 13/14/3 and three steals, and the excellence of God’s Own Widow’s Peak (Ante Zizic) kept the Cavs in the game in the first.

Andrew Bogut was a game high +15 for the Warriors and looks the healthiest I’ve seen him in years while Tristan Thompson was a game low -17 for Cleveland. This was mostly a result of Cleveland going small down the stretch with a lot of Nwaba at the four and Larry at the five.

Speaking of David Nwaba, he’s been a revelation at times in the second half of the year. Nwaba has a chance to be a more dynamic PJ Tucker if he can get his three ball figured out. Nwaba played relentless defense and bullied the Warriors on drives and on the block to finish with 13/7/3, a team high +13 on just 7 shots. He’s so strong around the basket, and quick enough to be a matchup nightmare against bench units. If he’s even with you at the basket, you’ve already lost. He even finished a lefty layup.The Cavs were in danger of winning this one if David had played more than 23 minutes. Check him smoking Steph with this sick little Eurostep during his, Collin’s, and Larry’s big fourth quarter run.

As for the other guys, it was a bit too close for Channing Frye to get any run, and he was sadly a DNP while Quiche Chriss looked rgularly burnt. Nik Stauskus played a forgettable 12 minutes too. Channing glad handed most of the Dubs’ bench after the game and had a special embrace for his Phoenix GM, Steve Kerr.

For the Warriors, this game was mostly about Steph Curry being the best player in the association not named LeBron James for the last five years, and the best this year. Steph seemingly effortlessly put up 40/6/7 on 21 shots, 9-12 from downtown, and 7-7 from the line. An inch of space and he’s able to nail a three ball from anywhere inside half court. If there’s anything I want Collin to continue to emulate is Steph’s ability to pass and move and be ready to hit when he catches the ball on the pass back.

The Warriors’ second best player this game, Draymond Green, got Steph the ball. Dray finished with 20/8/5 but what should scare teams is the way he confidently stepped into his first two three balls of the game and finished 3-7 from downtown. If Dray can shoot like that when you leave him open, the Dubs are unbeatable.

Steph just got contacts and lately looks as good as ever from downtown. And yes, I still can’t stand him prancing around when he does things like hit a three to go up 21 in the third quarter on a team that’s third worst in the association.

Cleveland locked in a bottom three spot in the lottery and pulled even with the Suns who accidentally won, as they weren’t shameless enough to let his team flap in the wind down the stretch like coach Drew was. They Association needs to start assigning random lottery odds to late season wins down the stretch to prevent the embarrassing practice of losing games on purpose. If Cleveland and Phoenix finish with the same record, they’ll have the same lottery odds and flip a coin for the lowest possible pick.

Happy Trails, Channing, we’ll see you in Cleveland for your final two games Sunday and Tuesday.