Darius Garland put up 27 points as one of six Cavaliers to score in double figures and host Cleveland pummeled the Golden State Warriors 136-117 on Friday night for its 10th straight win to open the season.
With the victory, Cleveland matched the 12th-best start to a season in NBA history. Golden State holds the league record, going 24-0 to kick off the 2015-16 campaign.
All five Cavaliers starters supplied at least 12 points, with Evan Mobley netting 23, Isaac Okoro notching 16, Jarrett Allen going for 13 and Donovan Mitchell collecting 12. Ty Jerome had 20 off the bench, while Allen hauled in 12 rebounds to complete a double-double.
Cleveland outshot the visitors 54.1 percent to 48 percent overall.
Reserve Jonathan Kuminga racked up a team-high 21 points for the Warriors, who saw a five-game winning streak come to an end. Brandin Podziemski chipped in 14 points, seven rebounds, four assists and four steals, but Golden State star Stephen Curry was held to 12 points.
The Cavaliers wasted little time turning the game into a rout, opening the contest on a 20-2 run that featured six points apiece from Mobley and Garland. The Warriors trailed by at least 13 for the rest of the first quarter, which ended with Cleveland up 39-22.
When Jerome knocked down a 3-pointer with 5:09 left in the first half, the Cavaliers had Golden State doubled up at 68-34.
Garland capped the half in style by canning a pull-up jumper and converting a runner in the lane in the final 1:16 to send Cleveland into the break with a stunning 83-42 lead.
Everything was falling before intermission for the Cavaliers, who made good on 65.1 percent of their field-goal attempts and 63.6 percent of their 3-point tries (14 of 22) over the first 24 minutes of action.
Cleveland led 112-83 after three quarters and never saw its advantage fall below 18 for the entirety of the fourth.
–Field Level Media
