NBA: Worst home defeat for LeBron as Warriors thrash Cavs
Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James, left, drives past Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry in the second half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, Jan. 18, 2016, in Cleveland. The Warriors won 132-98. AP
LOS ANGELES, United States—Steph Curry scored 35 points as the Golden State Warriors dished out the heaviest home defeat of LeBron James’ career with a 132-98 pummeling of the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday.
The eagerly anticipated rematch between the reigning NBA champion Warriors and last year’s beaten finalists turned into a night to forget for James and the Cavaliers as Golden State ran riot.
Curry was tormentor-in-chief as he returned to the stadium where he helped the Warriors clinch last year’s NBA title.
The silky-skilled 27-year-old point guard had reportedly angered certain Cavaliers players in the build-up by joking that he hoped the locker room “still smells a little bit like champagne.”
But any plans the Cavaliers had to make Curry regret his choice of words were torn up within a few minutes of the tip-off as the Warriors raced into an early lead and never looked back.
By the fourth quarter the Cavaliers trailed by a mammoth 43 points—the largest deficit James has failed at any point in his 1,127 career.
The 34-point loss was the heaviest margin of defeat James has ever suffered in a home defeat according to ESPN Statistics.
The dominance of the Warriors proved too much for James at one point, with the superstar losing his composure in an off-the-ball tussle with Curry who ended up being grappled to the floor.
James finished with 16 points but his personal tally was an irrelevance on a night which finished with dejected Cavaliers fans leaving the Quicken Loans Arena well before the end.
Curry received able backing from Andre Iguodala with 20 points while Draymond Green chipped in with 16 points including 10 assists.
The win saw the Warriors improve to 38-4 for the season while the Cavaliers went to 28-11.
RELATED STORIES
LeBron, Cavaliers await Christmas rematch against Warriors
NBA: LeBron, Curry head USA Olympic basketball squad
