NBA fans are in for a treat Monday night when the Warriors return to Cleveland for the first time since winning the Larry O'Brien Trophy last June against the Cavaliers.
Despite losing two of their past three games, the Warriors (37-4) still own the best record in the NBA, and MVP favorite Stephen Curry shared his excitement about playing in Cleveland when he spoke to the media Sunday.
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"Obviously, walking in the locker room, it'll be good memories," Curry said, via InsideBayArea.com. "Hopefully, it still smells a little bit like champagne."
The Warriors suffered their worst defeat of the past two seasons, with Curry in the lineup, in Saturday's 113-95 loss at Detroit. But Michigan-native Draymond Green understands bad games are going to happen during a long season.
"We need to be better," Green said. "(But there's) no need to panic or turn on each other or point the finger. We all (stunk). And that's fine. It happens."
Curry agreed.
"Thirty-seven and four. I'm pretty happy that it bothers us that we laid an egg last night and some people feel a certain type of way about it, and that's good for us to try to turn it around," he said. "It obviously shows that we're on a mission to do something big this year."
Warriors interim coach Luke Walton said: "To us, I mean, it's exciting. We're halfway through the season, and we're 37-4 — best record in the NBA — and we feel like we can get a lot better, so that's kind of the way we're looking at this."
The Cavaliers, on the other hand, have won nine of their past 10 games, with their only loss coming at the hands of the red-hot Spurs on Thursday.
Cleveland will be seeking revenge, not only for last years Finals loss, but also for a 89-83 loss at Golden State on Christmas Day.