In a Christmas Day rematch of each of the last three NBA Finals, the Golden State Warriors beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 99-92 in Oakland on Monday.
Cavs forward Kevin Love led all scorers with 31 points and 18 rebounds, while forward Kevin Durant paced Golden State with 25 points. Warriors guard Steph Curry missed the third straight Christmas Day matchup between the Cleveland and Golden State as he continues to recover from a sprained right ankle.
LeBron James, who has been playing some of the best basketball of his career as of late, scored 20 points, pulled down 6 rebounds and tallied 6 assists.
After falling behind by as many as 9 points in the fourth quarter, the Cavs rallied back to tie the game on a James basket with just less than two minutes of action remaining. A Klay Thompson 3-pointer on the ensuing possession, however, proved to be the difference-maker, as Golden State took a 2-1 lead in its Christmas Day series with Cleveland, which spans the course of the last three years.
