Max Strus capped a 24-point performance with two late 3-pointers, James Harden drove for a clinching hoop in the final seconds and the Cleveland Cavaliers outlasted the Golden State Warriors 118-111 in San Francisco on Thursday night.
Harden finished with 19 points and Donovan Mitchell had a game-high-tying 25 for the Cavaliers (48-29), who moved within one game of the New York Knicks (49-28) in their duel for third place in the Eastern Conference.
Gui Santos and Brandin Podziemski matched Mitchell with 25 points apiece for the Warriors (36-41), whose third consecutive defeat left them solidly in 10th place in the West.
After leading by as many as 13 points in the first half, the Cavaliers found themselves down 103-100 after Santos buried a 3-pointer with 4:17 to go.
But Mitchell countered immediately with a 3-pointer of his own to tie the game and then Strus moments later bombed in 24- and 28-footers over a three-possession span that lifted the visitors into a six-point lead in the final minute.
Podziemski kept the Warriors alive with a layup, but Harden then wound down the clock, drove into the Golden State interior and flipped in an 11-footer with 21.9 seconds left that clinched Cleveland’s seventh win in its last nine games.
Strus did a majority of his scoring from beyond the arc, drilling six of 10.
Jarrett Allen (16 points, game-high 13 rebounds) and Evan Mobley (12 points, 10 rebounds) chipped in with double-doubles for the Cavaliers, who outshot the Warriors 51.2% to 43.6% overall and 44.4% to 27.3% on 3-pointers.
Dennis Schroder added 12 points and a team-high six assists off the Cleveland bench.
Draymond Green flirted with a triple-double while posting eight points, nine rebounds, a game-high nine assists and three blocks for the Warriors, while Gary Payton II pulled a team-high 12 rebounds to complement eight points.
Kristaps Porzingis went for 16 points, while LJ Cryer and Pat Spencer added 12 apiece off the Golden State bench.
–Field Level Media
