The Cleveland Cavaliers made the decisive plays in the closing minutes on Friday night, defeating the Golden State Warriors 118-111 at Chase Center to clinch a spot in the NBA postseason for the fourth consecutive year.
Cleveland (48-29) entered the night with its “Core Four” healthy and used a late surge to repel several Warrior rallies. Donovan Mitchell paced five Cavaliers in double figures with 25 points, while Max Strus added 24 on 9-for-14 shooting, including a pair of critical three-pointers down the stretch.
“The difference? We made shots and got stops,” Strus told FanDuel Sports Network. “We’ve still got to get better defensively. You can’t play with the game.”
Key contributions across the lineup
James Harden finished with 19 points, highlighted by a clutch runner over Kristaps Porziņģis in the final minutes. Center Jarrett Allen supplied 16 points and 13 rebounds, and Evan Mobley posted a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double. Reserve guard Dennis Schröder chipped in 12 points, mixed in a hard foul and picked up a technical.
Despite 15 turnovers and several momentum swings, head coach Kenny Atkinson credited his backcourt stars for steadying the group when the Warriors threatened late. “James and Donovan were our compass,” Atkinson said. “We got a few stops, the bigs rebounded and we made the right plays when it got close.”
Warriors undermanned but competitive
Golden State (36-41) played without several regulars yet kept the game tight behind 25 points each from Gui Santos and rookie Brandin Podziemski. Draymond Green also logged minutes for the injury-plagued club. The loss dropped the Warriors to 1-2 on their current homestand.
Playoff ticket punched
The victory, Cleveland’s seventh in its last nine outings, secured an Eastern Conference playoff berth that seemed precarious when the team sat at 17-16 earlier in the season. “Never underestimate making the playoffs in the NBA. It’s hard to be in that group,” Atkinson told reporters. “Obviously, we want more.”
The win closed the Cavaliers’ final West Coast trip at 2-1. Cleveland returns home to face the Indiana Pacers on Easter Sunday before alternating home-and-road contests against the Grizzlies, Hawks (twice) and Wizards to finish the regular season.
Source: Hoops Wire
