CLEVELAND _ Before the game, coach Tyronn Lue said he believed the Cavaliers would be the best team in the Eastern Conference.
At first he said they were, then he considered they had lost eight of their last 11 coming into their Martin Luther King Jr. Day clash with the rival Golden State Warriors. So Lue amended that statement.
But he remains confident "because we've got the best player in the world" in LeBron James. And as the Warriors found out Monday night at Quicken Loans Arena, when James and the Cavs are motivated they look like a different team.
But even with newfound energy and effort, the Cavs could sustain it only for three quarters as the Warriors pulled away for a 118-108 victory.
The Cavs (26-17) went cold at the wrong time, making just 2 of their first 17 shots to start the fourth quarter as the Warriors opened a 105-95 lead with 5:44 remaining. The Cavs made 6-of-23 field goals in the final period.
The Warriors took the season series 2-0 and extended their road winning streak to 13 games, the second-longest string in franchise history. During the streak, eight games have been decided by double figures.
The Cavs saw their 13-game home winning streak snapped as they lost for just the fifth time in 20 games at the Q.
Kevin Durant scored 16 points in the third quarter and led the Warriors with 32, along with five rebounds and eight assists. Stephen Curry, after a four-point first quarter, added 23 points with eight assists and Klay Thompson pitched in 17 points.
James led the Cavs with 32 points, eight rebounds and six assists in 36 minutes after posting a 20-6-6 line in their Christmas meeting at Oracle Arena.
Besides the Cavs' engagement from the start, the most encouraging sign was the performance of point guard Isaiah Thomas.
Struggling in his past two games and playing just his fifth in his return from a torn labrum in his right hip, Thomas seemed to pick up on his teammates' energy. After making just 5-of-26 field goals in losses at Minnesota and Toronto, he played a season-high 32 minutes and scored 19 points. He made 8-of-21 from the field, including 1-for-7 from deep.
As a team the Cavs sank only 7-of-28 (25 percent) from long range.
The Cavs continued to struggle since falling 99-92 on Christmas Day at Golden State. They have lost eight of 10 and scored 100 points only twice in those defeats.
But there was a different vibe around the Cavs on Monday, starting with a new "Gloves are Comin' Off" pregame video set to a tune by 7kingz.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr said he believed the emotion of a rivalry game would give the Cavs a sense of urgency. The two teams have met in three consecutive NBA Finals, with the Warriors winning two titles around the Cavs' breakthrough championship for Cleveland in 2016.
"Sometimes this is the best thing for a team that's struggling is a rivalry game, get the blood going," Kerr said before the game. "I expect them to come out and play a lot better than they have been these last couple weeks."
That was the case in the first half. Even though the Cavs made just 3-of-12 beyond the arc in the first two quarters, they became the aggressor, finishing with a 38-26 edge in points in the paint at the break. For the game, that edge was 62-46.
But the Cavs were also quickly reminded of the quick-strike scoring ability of the Warriors. With the Cavs up 18-11 in the first quarter, the Warriors scored eight unanswered points in just 1:22 to take a 19-18 lead. At that point, Thompson had 11 of the Warriors' points.
Two-time league MVP Curry had just one 3-pointer at halftime, that coming with 5:47 left in the second quarter, but the Cavs had to know that would be short-lived. Curry finished 4-of-8 from long range.
Durant was also slow to get going, scoring his first field goal on a dunk with 4:07 left in the first quarter. But he finished the period with eight points and totaled 13 at half.
This marked the third consecutive year the Cavs have taken on the Warriors on Martin Luther King Day. Overall on the holiday, including road games, the Cavs are 9-8 and the Warriors are 17-9.
