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 Cleveland Cavaliers  Golden State Warriors | |
| First meeting | October 17, 1970[1] GSW 128, CLE 108 |
|---|---|
| Latest meeting | December 30, 2024 CLE 113, GSW 95 |
| Next meeting | December 6, 2025 |
| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | 146[2] |
| All-time series | 83–63 (GSW) |
| Regular season series | 68–56 (GSW)[3] |
| Postseason results | 15–7 (GSW) |
| Longest win streak | GSW W19 |
| Current win streak | CLE W4 |
| Postseason history | |
| |
TheCavaliers–Warriors rivalry is aNational Basketball Association (NBA)rivalry between theCleveland Cavaliers and theGolden State Warriors. The rivalry became prominent in the mid-to-late 2010s, with the two teams facing each other in four consecutiveNBA Finals from2015 to2018. In the four Finals, the Warriors won three championships and the Cavaliers won one.
The Warriors dominated the early series, going 37–22 (.627) from 1970 to 1991. The Cavaliers would win 10 straight games from 1992 to 1996 to reduce Golden State's lead to 37–32 (.536). The two teams played each other close duringLeBron James' first stint with the Cavaliers in the 2000s.
The2006–07 season was a memorable season for both teams, as the Warriors qualified for the 8th seed and became the first 8-seeded team to eliminate a 1-seed in a best-of-7 series, as they did in the 2007 first round against theDallas Mavericks. On the other hand, the Cavaliers reached their firstNBA Finals, where they were swept by theSan Antonio Spurs. The Cavaliers' playoffs run was highlighted by LeBron James' epic performance in Game 5 of theEastern Conference Finals versus the 1-seedDetroit Pistons, with James scoring the Cavaliers' last 25 points, while sending the game to double overtime. Two years later, on January 23, 2009, LeBron James scored a game-winningbuzzer beater over the Golden State Warriors, months beforeStephen Curry joined the NBA.
From 2010 to 2014, Jamesleft the Cavaliers to play for theMiami Heat to team up withDwyane Wade andChris Bosh. The Heat went to the Finals each year, winning championships in2012 and2013, while the Warriors were a lottery team. The Cavaliers used their first pick in2011 to draftKyrie Irving fromDuke University. However, the Warriors won both games against the Cavaliers that season with a rookieKlay Thompson and Curry, both of whom were instrumental in the success the Warriors would experience later that decade.
The Warriors led the head-to-head series 53–50 (.515) through the end of the2013–14 season.
James returned to the Cavaliers during the 2014 off-season. The Cavaliers then acquired All-Star power forwardKevin Love from theMinnesota Timberwolves forAndrew Wiggins andAnthony Bennett. The Cavaliers quickly became the favorite to win theEast, as they already had an All-Star point guard inKyrie Irving and other rising stars such asTristan Thompson.
In the Western Conference, the Warriors were a team led by their backcourt of the "Splash Brothers", Curry and Thompson, and a developed fast-paced, up-tempo offense, consisting mainly of three point shooting.
With LeBron James returning to the Cavaliers as a free agent in 2014, the team was favored to make it to the NBA Finals. The team started off the season poorly, with Love struggling in his new role and SGDion Waiters unable to handle being relegated to a secondary role. The Cavaliers started off the season with a dismal record of 19–20. James missed two weeks in January (which was his longest absence at the time) with back and knee injuries.[4] Later that month, the Cavaliers traded away Waiters to theOklahoma City Thunder in a three-team deal with theNew York Knicks. They acquired three-point specialistJ. R. Smith and defensive assetIman Shumpert. The team also acquired center and rim protectorTimofey Mozgov in a separate trade. These players were critical for the team's return to the top of the Eastern Conference.
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The Warriors started off the season 21–2, with a 16-game winning streak, which made them the early title favorites.Stephen Curry immediately became aMost Valuable Player candidate. Curry was improving off of last year's All-Star season.Klay Thompson became one of the best shooting guards, three-point shooters, and two-way players in the league.Draymond Green averaged about 12 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists per game. Rookie head coachSteve Kerr was a candidate forCoach of the Year.
The two teams split their head-to-head meetings that season, each winning on its home court.
James, Irving, Curry, and Thompson were all named to their respectiveNBA All-Star teams, with Curry finishing first in the All-Star voting (1,513,324), and LeBron James finishing in second (1,470,483).[5] Curry won the NBA MVP Award, averaging 23.8 points, 7.7 assists, and 2.0 steals per game, and shot 44.3% from three-point territory.[6] James was third in MVP voting. He averaged 25.3 PPG, 6.0 RPG, and 7.4 APG.[7] They were featured on theAll-NBA First Team. Irving and Thompson made the All-NBA team as well. The Cavaliers finished the season with a record of 53–29, and the Warriors finished the season with a record of 67–15.
The Warriors and the Cavaliers only lost five games combined in the first three rounds of the playoffs. For the first time in NBA Finals history, both teams were coached by rookie head coaches withSteve Kerr andDavid Blatt. The Cavaliers faced injury trouble, losing Love in Game 4 of the first round against theBoston Celtics to a separated shoulder. Irving left Game 1 of the Finals in overtime after fracturing his left kneecap. The Warriors won Game 1 in a 108–100 overtime thriller. Game 2 also went into overtime, the all-around efforts of LeBron James andMatthew Dellavedova's surprisingly stellar defense on Steph Curry took the game 95–93. James had carried the limping Cavaliers to a Game 3 win and a 2–1 lead over the Warriors. The Warriors would win the next three games to take home the 2015 NBA Championship.Andre Iguodala would win theNBA Finals MVP, although James averaged 35.8 PPG, 13.3 RPG, and 8.8 APG in a losing effort. However, he shot less than 40% from the field for the entire series.
The Warriors opened the 2015–16 season going 24–0, the most wins without a loss to start a season in NBA history and the second-longest winning streak in NBA history (33, by the1971–72 Los Angeles Lakers). By the All-Star break, the Warriors' record was a stellar 48–4, including a pair of regular season victories against Cleveland. One notable game was on MLK day where Stephen Curry dropped 35 points en route to a blowout 132–98 victory. This was the best record at an All–Star break in league history. Curry, Thompson, and Draymond Green earned all-star selections. Golden State went on to break the1995–96 Chicago Bulls' 72–10 season record by winning 73 games. Stephen Curry became the first unanimous MVP in the history of the NBA that year.
Despite their regular season dominance, the Warriors struggled in the Western Conference playoffs. After defeating theHouston Rockets andPortland Trail Blazers each in five games without Curry for several games due to injuries, the Warriors were pushed to seven games by theOklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals. The Thunder jumped to a 3–1 lead, but the Warriors were able to battle their way back and win the series.
The Cavaliers faced some challenges in the 2015–16 campaign. Irving was recovering from a knee injury sustained in Game 1 of the previous season's Finals and would miss most of the first half of the season. Despite some hardship, Cleveland performed well throughout the first half of the season. Halfway through the campaign, with a record of 30–11, head coachDavid Blatt was replaced byTyronn Lue. The team finished the regular season with the best record in the Eastern Conference with 57 wins, sweeping theDetroit Pistons andAtlanta Hawks, and defeated theToronto Raptors in 6 games to advance to the Finals against the defending champion Warriors.
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The 2016 NBA Finals saw the Cavaliers and Warriors meet for the second straight season. The Warriors won Games 1 and 2 in Oakland quite convincingly before the series moved to Cleveland. While Cleveland won Game 3 at home in convincing fashion, the Warriors took Game 4 to set up a potential series-clincher at home. During the game, Draymond Green committed a flagrant foul on LeBron James. After reviewing the incident post-game, the league determined that the altercation warranted a flagrant 1 foul, which put Green over the NBA's flagrant foul limit and meant that he would be suspended for Game 5.
Kyrie Irving and LeBron James both scored 41 points in Game 5 to stay alive on the road, becoming the first pair of teammates to score at least 40 points in a Finals game. Back in Cleveland, LeBron James continued his explosive scoring, tallying another 41-point game in a Game 6 rout of the Warriors that saw a dominating 31–9 opening sequence and a late-game ejection of Stephen Curry. James became the first player sinceShaquille O'Neal to score over 40 points in back-to-back NBA Finals games. Curry was also the first player, also since O'Neal, to foul out in a Finals game.
With the series shifting back to Oracle Arena for the championship decider, the Warriors and the Cavaliers were neck-and-neck for most of Game 7. With a little over a minute and fifty seconds left in the 4th quarter, and with the score tied 89–89, LeBron James made a memorablechase-down block on Andre Iguodala to save a go-ahead basket. Soon after, Kyrie Irving hit a 3-pointer over Stephen Curry to give Cleveland the lead, and Kevin Love locking down Curry. In the end, they held on to win the game 93–89. This was Cleveland's first franchise title and made them first team in NBA Finals history to come back from a 1–3 deficit. LeBron James became only the third player in NBA history to have a triple double in a Finals Game 7 and was unanimously voted Finals MVP after leading in all five categories of points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks.
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On July 4, 2016,Oklahoma City Thunder starKevin Durant signed with the Warriors in free agency. He averaged 25.1 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 4.8 APG, 1.1 SPG, and 1.6 BPG. After losing the Christmas game 108–109, the Warriors got their revenge on MLK Day at home by once again blowing out the Cavaliers 126–91. After finishing 67–15, the first team in NBA history to win at least 67 games in three straight seasons, the Warriors went 12–0 in the Western Conference playoffs. They became the 3rd team in league history to sweep all three rounds after theLos Angeles Lakers (1988–89 and2000–01), doing it against thePortland Trail Blazers,Utah Jazz, andSan Antonio Spurs, and the 1st to do so going 12–0 (the previous teams went 11–0 when the first round was best-of-five).
In the Eastern Conference, the Cavaliers willfully made it to the Finals, going 12–1, cruising past theIndiana Pacers andToronto Raptors in convincing series sweeps. In the Conference Finals, the Cavaliers defeated theBoston Celtics in five games. James entered the Finals averaging 32.5 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 7.0 APG, 2.2 SPG, and 1.4 BPG. He shot 57% from the field and 42% from three. James averaged a triple-double in the Finals. Kevin Love also played his best basketball as a Cavalier, averaging 17.2 PPG 10.4 RPG, 1.9 APG, shooting 46% from the field, and 44% on 3 pointers.[8] Kyrie Irving set a career playoff-high 42 points during Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals against Boston. The Warriors and Cavaliers had a combined 24–1 record entering theFinals, the fewest combined losses entering the Finals ever.
The series faced high anticipation as the Warriors, now dubbed as a "super-team", looked for revenge on their East coast foe from the previous year's loss. The Warriors easily took Games 1 and 2 at home, defeating the Cavaliers 113–91, and 132–113. Game 3 looked to be in the Cavs' favor, until an 11–0 run by the Warriors in the closing minutes emerged, capped off by a dagger three from Kevin Durant to seal a 118–113 comeback victory. Down 0–3, James and Irving led the Cavaliers over the Warriors to a 137–116 win, including a record-breaking 49 points in the first quarter, a Finals-high 86 points in the first half, and a record 24 3–pointers (which broke the record of 18 set by the Warriors in Game 2). Durant and the Warriors looked to finish the series back home in Game 5. Despite early domination from James and Cleveland in Game 5, the Warriors surged ahead in the second half, fending off several late-game Cavaliers rallies, and won the title with a 129–120 victory. It was the team's second title in three years, and Durant's first championship andFinals MVP.[9] The Warriors also broke a new playoff record with 16 wins out of 17 games played, with their only loss in Game 4 of the NBA Finals. Both the Warriors and the Cavaliers entered the Finals with a combined record of 24–1, with the Cavaliers losing only Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
In 2017–18, Golden State won the two regular-season meetings against the Cavaliers, but struggled down the stretch with multiple All-Star injuries. For the third straight MLK day, the Warriors defeated the Cavaliers 118–108. However, fueled by the return of Stephen Curry during theplayoffs, the Warriors dominated the first and second rounds of the playoffs against theSan Antonio Spurs andNew Orleans Pelicans each in five games and advanced to their fourth consecutive Finals by overcoming a 2–3 deficit against theHouston Rockets. Cleveland also struggled during the second half of the season after overhauling their roster at the trade deadline with new, younger players. However, they still managed to beat theIndiana Pacers in seven games, sweep the Raptors, then overcome their own 2–3 deficit against theBoston Celtics to advance to the Finals. It was the first time that the same two teams in any ofNorth America's four major professional sports leagues have met for a championship round four consecutive times.[10]
Game 1 was close with several lead changes. James would score 51 points. However, the game went to overtime, in part due to a controversial reversed charging foul call against Durant, a missed go-ahead free throw byGeorge Hill with 4.7 seconds left, andJR Smith subsequently rebounding and dribbling out the clock, mistakenly believing his team to be ahead. The Warriors would dominate overtime, winning the game 124–114. Several minor scuffles ensued in the closing seconds of overtime, culminating inTristan Thompson getting ejected and later fined for shoving a basketball into the face ofDraymond Green. After the game, LeBron James reportedly suffered a self-inflicted bone contusion onto his right hand after punching a whiteboard in the locker room. He played through the injury for the rest of the series, and it was not disclosed until after Game 4.[11]
Game 2 was a more one-sided affair, with the Warriors winning 122–103. Curry would break his own NBA Finals record with nine 3 pointers in a Finals game.
Game 3 was also close, as the teams exchanged leads several times. Curry struggled from the field, shooting only 3–16 (1–10, 3 pointers), while James set a record with his 10th Finals triple-double. However, Durant would lead the Warriors to a 110–102 victory, scoring a playoff career-high 43 points, along with another clutch three.
Game 4 capped off the second time that the Cavaliers had beenswept in the NBA Finals. In a 108–85 rout, Durant and Curry scored 20 and 37 points respectively, clinching the second consecutive and third title in four years for the Warriors, and sixth overall. Durant won his secondNBA Finals MVP award, averaging 28.8 PPG, 10.8 RPG and 7.5 APG on 52.6% shooting, while James led both teams in scoring and assists, averaging 34 PPG and 10 APG in a losing effort.[12]
Following LeBron James' 2nd departure from the Cavaliers, this time to theLos Angeles Lakers, in 2018, the Cavaliers entered a rebuild centered around their 2018 first round draft pickCollin Sexton, and later their 2019 first round draft pickDarius Garland, while retainingTristan Thompson andKevin Love to serve as veteran leaders. The Cavaliers struggled in their next two seasons, finishing 19–63 in2018–19 and 19–46 in the2019–20 season prior to its suspension due to theCOVID-19 pandemic. The Cavaliers were not among the 22 teams invited tocomplete the season. The team fired head coach Lue six games into the 2018–19 season. They hired formerUniversity of Michigan head coachJohn Beilein before the 2019–20 season. He resigned midway through that season. Assistant coachJ.B. Bickerstaff was named interim head coach. He became the full-time head coach for the2020–21 season. The Cavaliers nearly returned to theplayoffs in the2021–22 season, but lost to theAtlanta Hawks in theNBA play-in tournament for the 8th seed.
The Warriors returned to their 5th straight Finals in2019, aiming for athree-peat, but lost to theToronto Raptors, 2–4.Kevin Durant andAndre Iguodala left the Warriors for theBrooklyn Nets andMemphis Grizzlies, respectively, in the 2019 offseason (though Iguodala would eventually become a member of theMiami Heat). These losses, combined with injuries toKlay Thompson andStephen Curry, led the Warriors to finish an NBA-worst 15–50 in the shortened 2019–20 season and not be invited to finish the season.
In the2022 NBA All-Star Game, Stephen Curry, Andrew Wiggins and Draymond Green were selected to represent the Warriors. When Curry was announced, he was booed by all the fans in the arena, but Curry responded by dropping 50 points and winning All-Star Game MVP. Four months later, the Warriors returned to the Finals. Iguodala returned to Golden State after spending two years with the Heat. Curry and Thompson returned after missing much of the prior two seasons due to injuries. The Warriors defeated theBoston Celtics (in a rematch of the1964 Finals) in six games to win their 4th title in eight years and 7th overall.
The teams have played twelve games since James' departure, with the Warriors holding a 9–4 record.
Both teams qualified for the2023 NBA playoffs. This marked the first time since2018 that both teams clinched playoff seeds and the first since1998 that the Cavaliers made the playoffs without James. That postseason, the Warriors eliminated theSacramento Kings in seven games and would advance to the 2nd round. On the other hand, the Cavaliers were eliminated by theNew York Knicks in five games. The Warriors would again face James who was now on the Lakers. In the end, James ended their quest for back to back titles in six games.
Early in the 2024–25 season, The Cavaliers (9–0) and Warriors (7–1) met for a marquee matchup in Cleveland. The Cavaliers hurried out to franchise record halftime lead of 83–42, also the eighth largest in the NBA's shot clock era, and tied its mark for points in a half. They went on to win 136–117 also becoming the first team in NBA history to win their first 10 games, while also scoring at least 110 points in each of them.[13] The Cavaliers would go on to win their next 5 games starting 15-0, second only to the 2016 Warriors who started 24–0. Also of note is that the Cavaliers head coachKenny Atkinson, who was an assistant coach for the Warriors the previous year (and won a title with them in 2022), became the first coach to go undefeated in his first 15 games with a new team.
| Cleveland Cavaliers vs. San Francisco/Golden State Warriors Season-by-Season Results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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1970s (Warriors, 24–13)
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1980s (Warriors, 11–9)
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1990s (Cavaliers, 14–5)
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2000s (Cavaliers, 13–7)
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2010s (Warriors, 30–10)
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2020s (Warriors, 6–4)
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Summary of Results
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Bold denotes statistical leader
| Rank | Player | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | LeBron James | CLE | 22 | 43.5 | 48.1 | 34.9 | 71.9 | 11.5 | 9.3 | 1.7 | 1.3 | 33.0 |
| 2 | Kevin Durant | GS | 9 | 40.5 | 54.3 | 45.0 | 94.1 | 9.3 | 6.3 | 0.9 | 1.9 | 32.7 |
| 3 | Kyrie Irving | CLE | 13 | 39.8 | 46.8 | 39.5 | 92.6 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 1.8 | 0.6 | 27.7 |
| 4 | Stephen Curry | GS | 22 | 38.7 | 42.2 | 39.7 | 91.6 | 5.1 | 6.3 | 1.5 | 0.4 | 25.4 |
| 5 | Klay Thompson | GS | 22 | 36.6 | 43.1 | 36.9 | 80.8 | 3.9 | 1.7 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 17.2 |
| 6 | Kevin Love | CLE | 15 | 30.1 | 38.8 | 33.3 | 81.1 | 9.5 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 13.8 |
| 7 | Draymond Green | GS | 21 | 38.3 | 42.4 | 31.1 | 74.0 | 8.9 | 6.0 | 1.9 | 1.0 | 12.8 |
| 8 | Andre Iguodala | GS | 20 | 32.4 | 50.9 | 36.7 | 37.8 | 5.0 | 3.6 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 11.2 |
| 9 | J. R. Smith | CLE | 22 | 33.6 | 37.7 | 38.2 | 59.3 | 3.0 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 10.9 |
| 10 | Harrison Barnes | GS | 13 | 32.3 | 36.1 | 35.4 | 68.4 | 5.1 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 9.1 |
Note:Shaun Livingston andTristan Thompson also played in all 22 Finals games. Livingston owns the highest field goal percentage.
