David Lee carries Golden State Warriors to a 106-96 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers – NBA Recap
David Lee was suffering from flue like symptoms before the game, but still decided to start the contest against Cleveland Cavaliers. As it turned out, his will won the game for the Golden State Warriors.
The power forward produced yet another double-double with 22 points and 14 rebounds as the Warriors snatched their third win of the season, beating Kyrie Irving’s Cavaliers 106-96. Lee also dished out six assists on the night to go with three steals. When asked about the maverick performance even after being sick, Lee admitted that he surprised himself;
"Very surprised, because I felt awful. I assumed as of last night that I was not going to play. I woke up today and I was throwing up again. I felt awful, and then by this afternoon it felt a little bit better, enough to at least come in and give it a shot. I know as captain of this team, along with Steph and Andrew [Bogut], the guys are looking up to me and seeing how I handle a team when you're not feeling your best. I definitely wanted to play tonight and show that and then went out there. It seems when you don't feel well the ball bounces your way."
Lee was given full support by Stephen Curry, who shot just 3 for 15 in the last game against the Sacramento Kings. The guard filled the stat sheet tonight with 21 points on 8 for 14, to go with 6 assists and 5 rebounds. Carl Landry remained hot and came off the bench to score 19 points (8-of-10) with nine rebounds, rookie Harrison Barnes had 14; Klay Thompson contributed 13; while Jarrett Jack added 10 for the Warriors, who shot 53.8 percent from the floor.
The Cavs, playing without Anderson Varejao and Tyler Zeller, were expectedly marshalled by Irving, who dropped 28 points; handed out seven assists and hauled down six rebounds. Daniel Gibson and rookie Dion Waiters scored 12 apiece while Tristan Thompson had an 11 point-10 rebound double-double.
The Warriors were in their zone right from the word go. They led 12-3 early and had pushed their advantage to 37-21 by the end of the first quarter. Cleveland got things back in the second quarter. They brought down the deficit to 43-48 with 4:36 remaining in the half and after the Warriors doled out a 6 nil spurt, Irving scored 7 in an 8-2 run to make it a five point game again.
Cavs entered the second half down by 8, but tied the game at 65 in a little over 4 minutes into the third quarter. They took the first lead of the game with a Waiters layup at the 6:39 mark and were leading by 70-68 nearly midway through the period.
Down by two after leading throughout the game, the Warriors rattled the Cavs up with a 17-4 run to take complete control. The burst, inspired by Landry and Jack, pretty much sealed the game.
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