Warriors, Curry deal Cavaliers severe beating

CLEVELAND – Stephen Curry didn’t smell champagne. Blood was in the air.

Curry scored 35 points in three quarters, Andre Iguodala added 20 and Golden State returned to the arena where it won the NBA championship last season and embarrassed the Cleveland Cavaliers 132-98 on Monday night.

The Warriors built a 30-point lead in the first half, pushed their advantage to 43 after halftime and bounced back from a shocking loss in Detroit over the weekend by winning their fifth straight over Cleveland.

Only a late flurry of points helped the Cavs avoid their worst home loss in franchise history.

“They did what they wanted,” LeBron James said.

Curry made seven 3-pointers – his last put the Warriors ahead by 40 late in the third quarter – and the reigning league MVP seemed right at home in Quicken Loans Arena, where the Warriors clinched their first title since 1975 last June. On Sunday, Curry said he hoped the visitor’s locker room “still smells a little bit like champagne.”

That aroma had long dissipated, but the Warriors looked thirsty for more bubbly.

Curry downplayed his champagne boast.

“The last time I was there we had a trophy, we had champagne and we had goggles,” Curry said, recalling last season’s Game 6. “We had a good time.”

With Curry leading the charge, the Warriors overwhelmed the Cavs, who lost at Golden State 89-83 on Christmas Day and could do little to stop the defending champions.

In other results, New York foiled Philadelphia, 119-113; Charlotte turned back Utah, 124-119; Portland trounced Washington, 108-98; Memphis edged New Orleans, 101-99; Chicago crushed Detroit, 111-101; Atlanta routed Orlando, 98-81;  Dallas repulsed Boston, 118-113; and Toronto smothered Brooklyn, 112-100.