The Cavaliers picked up their tenth win in ten games this season, this time at the expense of Golden State (136-117).
Cleveland, who recorded their tenth straight win in ten games since the season opener on Friday in Ohio against the Golden State Warriors (136-117), are still going it alone in the NBA. The Warriors conceded their second defeat of the season, their first on the road. This setback sees them lose the top spot in the Western Conference, where they are now behind Oklahoma City, who beat Houston (126-107), and Phoenix, who snatched victory from Dallas (114-113).
The sweeping victory was accompanied by several records for Cleveland: the most points scored by a franchise in a single half, the first with 83, and the largest lead over an opponent in a half: 41! This is the fifth time in ten games that the Cavaliers have surpassed the 130-point mark, and they did so in front of the second-best defense in the league, which they shattered. “10-0 is a magic number”exclaimed coach Kenny Atkinson. “We can’t play any better than we did in the first half”.. During this memorable game against Stephen Curry’s team, who could only score 12 points, six Cavaliers players managed a double double.
In the evening’s other match-up, the Boston Celtics managed to hold off the Brooklyn Nets, who had built up a 14-point lead in the first half in overtime (108-104). After this victory, to which Jayson Tatum made a major contribution with 33 points, the defending champions remain in second place in the Eastern Conference standings, where the Nets are now only fifth.
The Phoenix Suns visited Dallas, last season’s runners-up. They won by one point (114-113), on a Jusuf Nurkic free throw eight-tenths of a second from the buzzer. After this game, during which Kevin Durant scored 26 points for the Suns and Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving respectively 30 and 29 for the Mavericks, Phoenix is neck-and-neck at the top of the Western Conference: the two franchises have still only lost once this season. The Thunder, with Chet Holmgren and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scoring 29 points each, made the difference in the second quarter, winning 44-20 against Houston.