The Golden State Warriors defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers, 99-94, despite the absence of their superstars, including Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Jimmy Butler, and Al Horford, on Saturday.
Pat Spencer with a career-high 19 points in his first time on being a starter, and it was already his third straight game to score at least 15.
Warriors’ Gui Santos contributed 14 points, Buddy Hield added 13 in his first start of the season, and Quinton Post had 12.
On the other hand, the Cavaliers’ superstar Donovan Mitchell with 29 points, including 16 in the fourth quarter, while Evan Mobley scored 18, and Darius Garland with 17.
Cleveland also competed without some of their key players, such as Jarrett Allen and Lonzo Ball.
Although the Warriors finished strong in the last quarter, they shot 4 of 23 in the opening 12 minutes, tied for the second-worst shooting quarter in the league this season, 29 of 63 in total.
Meanwhile, the Cavaliers shot a season-worst 34.6% from the field, going 37 of 107 as they were 10 of 42 on three-pointers with a 23.6% shooting rate, also a season low.
In the second half, Golden State had a 14-point lead and was up 72-62 going into the fourth before Mitchell and the others made a late comeback.
Cavs went on a 15-5 run as they only trail by two points, 96-94, with 11 seconds remaining.
Santos made his first free throw, but missed his second, and Cleveland called a timeout following, where Mitchell missed his game-tying three-pointer with 4.1 seconds left.
The Warriors aim to continue ending their slump against the Chicago Bulls, and the Cavaliers look forward to starting their winning streak in Washington on Friday.
