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Warriors see Cavs using a familiar blueprint as they rewrite record books amid 10-0 start
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- Warriors see Cavs using a familiar blueprint as they rewrite record books amid 10-0 start
CLEVELAND — New Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson and Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green used the same three words to describe how Cleveland dominated during a historic first half Friday night at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse .
"Drive, kick, swing. That's kind of our motto, and I thought we did a hell of a job in the first half," Atkinson said.
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A Warriors assistant coach the past three seasons, Atkinson explained the Cavs emphasized "drive, kick, swing" during shootaround Friday morning. Then they defeated the Warriors 136-117 and improved to 10-0 this season.
The NBA's only remaining undefeated team, the Cavs led 83-42 at halftime, tying the regular-season franchise record for most points in a half. The 41-point advantage through two quarters set a club record for largest halftime lead. It's also tied for the eighth-largest halftime lead by any NBA team in the shot clock era (1954-55).
"They beat us by [41 points] in a half, and you are as good as your record says you are," Warriors guard Stephen Curry said. "So they're pretty damn good right now."
The Cavs are the only team in league history to start a season 10-0 and score 110-plus points in every game. The last team to go 10-0 was the 2015-16 Warriors, who established a league record for the best start to a season by going 24-0. The LeBron James-led Cavs rallied from a 3-1 deficit in the NBA Finals to defeat the Warriors for the title the same season. But the Warriors beat the Cavs in the 2015, 2017 and 2018 Finals.
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More on Cavs vs. Warriors: Cavaliers score 83 points in dominant first half and improve to 10-0 this season
Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green reacts during the second quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, in Cleveland, Ohio.
Draymond Green says he told Warriors teammate Steph Curry the Cavs 'beat us with what we've beat teams with for years'
Green explained he sees Atkinson's Cavs playing with a style similar to those Warriors teams because of the ball movement and players "flying around" the court. Atkinson helped Golden State claim another championship in 2022, so he knows a winning formula. The Cavs had 22 assists on 28 successful field goals in the first half.
"They're so intentional about the extra pass, and that is a staple for us," Green said. "The drive, kick, swing is what we've preached for years, and they diced us up with it.
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"I was telling Steph like in the fourth quarter, 'I feel like they just beat us with what we've beat teams with for years.'"
Are the Cavs just scorching hot out of the gate or should the rest of the NBA expect them to be really good under Atkinson?
"They've been building to this for several years," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "This is not just like all of a sudden the Cavs are good. They've been good. So the continuity matters, and they're obviously off to a great start. Clearly one of the best teams in the league."
Cleveland Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson reacts in the first quarter against the Golden State Warriors on Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, in Cleveland.
The Cavs have virtually the same roster they had last season, when they went 48-34 in the regular season, defeated the Orlando Magic 4-3 in the first round of the playoffs and lost 4-1 to the eventual NBA champion Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
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But the Cavs made a monumental change in the offseason by firing coach J.B. Bickerstaff and replacing him with Atkinson. The organization hoped Atkinson would elevate the offense, and it has been an overwhelming success thus far. They have scored at least 130 points in five games this season, tying a single-season franchise record through merely the first 10 games.
The Cavs no longer heavily rely on a pick-and-roll offense, which Green noted and added, "A lot easier to guard last year. A lot tougher to guard this year." Cleveland leads the league in points per game (124.5 points) and offensive rating (122.7 points per 100 possessions).
"Kenny's doing a great job with them, and they're playing at a high level," Kerr said. "So I don't know [how they compare with Cavs teams of the past]. I'll leave answer up to the analysts. I just know they kicked our ass."
Cleveland Cavaliers forward Isaac Okoro (35) shoots in the first quarter against the Golden State Warriors on Friday, Nov. 9, 2024, in Cleveland.
Cavs started the game on a 20-2 run and led Warriors 83-42 at halftime
The rout was on almost immediately because the Cavs jumped out to a 20-2 lead. Virtually the entire second half had a garbage-time feel.
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"I was worried about tonight," Atkinson said. "[The Warriors] were 7-1, and they're rolling. And they're coming in here, they're champions, they're going to try to kind of knock our block off. And the way we came out tonight, that surprised me how ready we were, how hungry we were."
In the first half, the Cavs went 28-of-43 shooting (65.1%) from the field (14 of 22 on 3-pointers). The 14 3-pointers is tied for second most in a half in franchise history.
The Cavs finished 46-of-85 shooting (54.1%) from the field (20 of 42 on 3-pointers). They had six players score in double figures: point guard Darius Garland (27 points), forward Evan Mobley (23), backup point guard Ty Jerome (20), small forward Isaac Okoro (16), center Jarrett Allen (13) and guard Donovan Mitchell (12).
"Everyone was just on their P's and Q's and knocking down everything," Mobley said. "We were getting stops and just flowing in transition and 3s were going up. [Layups] were going in. It was just amazing basketball."
Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Darius Garland, left, defends Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry during the first quarter Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, in Cleveland, Ohio.
Kenny Atkinson praises Cavs players for 'unbelievable job' amid 10-0 start this season
Mobley led the Cavs with eight points in the first quarter. Okoro and Jerome paced Cleveland with 13 points apiece in the first half. A former Warriors player, Jerome scored all 13 of his first-half points in the second quarter after remaining on the bench in the opening quarter.
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"We held them to one shot almost every play, and then we ran and we played the right way and everyone made shots," Jerome said. "Everything has to go right, but, I mean, I just thought we shared the ball, and we got open ones, too. It wasn't like we were shooting like tough shots. We were open a lot, and that was just good offense."
Cavs coach in perpetual motion: Kenny Atkinson is 'high energy' hoops addict, Warriors coach Steve Kerr says
On Wednesday, the Cavs won 131-122 at the New Orleans Pelicans to improve to 9-0 and set a record for the best start to a season in franchise history. Atkinson became the first head coach in league history to win his first nine games with a new team.
For an encore, the Cavs added more to the history books against the Warriors and kept their record unscathed.
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"The 10-0, it's a pretty unbelievable job by our guys," Atkinson said.
Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich .
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Warriors' Steph Curry, Draymond Green salute Cavs for 10-0 start
