Cleveland Cavaliers: Takeaways From Christmas Day Win

Cleveland Cavaliers: Takeaways From Christmas Day Win vs. Warriors

Dec 25, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) celebrates with forward Kevin Love (0) after winning the game against the Golden State Warriors at Quicken Loans Arena. Cleveland defeats Golden State 109-108. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /

4 of 5

Dec 25, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) shoots the ball against Golden State Warriors forward Andre Iguodala (9) at Quicken Loans Arena. Cleveland defeats Golden State 109-108. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /

Cavaliers Win Long-Distance Battle

The three-point shot is a big part of what the Warriors like to do from an offensive standpoint. In fact, the Dubs led the league in three-point shooting last season, connecting on 41.6 percent of their attempts.

This season, the Cavaliers are ranked second, knocking down 39.8 percent of their attempts from distance and the Warriors are sixth at 37.7 percent. Taking those numbers into consideration, it was reasonable to presume that the long ball would play an important role in this contest.

The Warriors were an uncharacteristic 9-for-30 from beyond the arc (30 percent), while the Cavaliers converted 12 of their 35 attempts from deep (34.5 percent), giving them a nine-point edge in this category.

How important is this advantage? In one word: very.

The Warriors outshot the Cavs 48 to 39 percent overall; they enjoyed a 50-44 advantage in terms of points scored in the paint and they had a 16-3 edge in fast break points.

But despite those disparities, the Cavaliers managed to overcome those deficiencies thanks a strong effort on the offensive glass (18-5) and the fact they were able to knock down more shots from three-point range.

Home/Cleveland Cavaliers