CLEVELAND _ Warriors head coach Steve Kerr often jokes that forward Draymond Green is "the lone survivor."
In fact, Kerr has plenty of jokes these days. After he entered an unusually crowded room of assembled reporters in Cleveland he asked, "Why are you all here? LeBron James isn't walking through that door, Kevin Durant isn't walking through that door."
Indeed, a lot has changed since the Warriors (11-39) and Cavaliers (13-37) played in four straight NBA Finals. With James leading a title contender in Los Angeles and the Warriors without Stephen Curry (left hand surgery), Klay Thompson (left knee surgery) and Durant (Brooklyn), the teams entered Saturday night with the worst two records in the NBA.
But Green turned in a vintage performance reminiscent of some of his best Finals games, tying a career-high with 16 assists in the Warriors' 131-112 win over the Cavaliers at Rocket Mortage FieldHouse.
With Green leading the offense, the Warriors briefly looked like the Warriors of old, assisting on 39 of their 48 made field goals and limiting themselves to 11 turnovers.
A steady drumbeat of drives, kicks, and whipped passes around the perimeter led to the worst-rated offense in the league making 53.9% overall and 18 of their 35 shots (51.4%) from beyond the arc.
In the opening minutes of the third quarter, Green found Glenn Robinson III for a layup that capped a 17-0 run _ the Warriors' longest scoring run of the season _ spanning the end of the second quarter to the start of the third.
Golden State outscored Cleveland 44-19 a third quarter in which they set a franchise record with 10 3-pointers made in a quarter, including making four straight in the final 1:45 of the period to take a 27-point lead into the fourth.
The Warriors entered Saturday night having lost 15 of their last 16 games, including the last five straight. It goes without saying that it's been a trying season for Green.
As the schedule begins to soften (the Warriors will play two sub-.500 teams next, the Wizards on Saturday and Nets on Wednesday), Green and the Warriors know they have an opportunity to earn a few rare wins before another challenging stretch.
In the second quarter, Green delivered a hard foul, smacking Collin Sexton in the chest with his left hand after the second-year guard flashed a behind-the-back dribble on a transition layup attempt. The message was clear: Green knew the Warriors could win this one, and he wasn't about to let anyone on the Cavaliers think otherwise.
Sexton finished with 23 points on 9-for-16 shooting and four assists, while rookie guard Kevin Porter Jr. chipped in 19 points. Forward Kevin Love went for 14 points, 11 rebounds and five assists.
In addition to Green (eight points, 16 assists, seven rebounds, two steals and two blocks in 26 minutes), the Warriors were led by Robinson's 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting (3 for 5 from 3-point range).
Russell had 19 points on 6-of-14 shooting (6 for 11 from 3-point range), eight assists and seven rebounds.
Having missed the last 18 games with an abdominal strain, center Kevon Looney logged two points and four rebounds in 13 minutes in his first game since Dec. 23.
