Delly up to old tricks in loss to Warriors

Draymond Green was the man for Golden State but it was the antics of Matthew Dellavedova that once again set tongues wagging in the NBA.

Warriors' Stephen Curry (R) and Cavaliers' Matthew Dellavedova

Golden State have beaten Cleveland 89-83 in a Christmas Day rematch of last year's NBA Finals. (AAP)

Golden State won their Christmas day NBA Finals rematch with the Cleveland Cavaliers 89-83 on the back of two Steph Curry drives in the final 80 seconds, but Cleveland's Aussie guard Matthew Dellavedova again raised eyebrows with questionable play.

As Cleveland looked to get back in the game down the stretch, the Aussie was called upon to foul suspect free-throw shooter and current Finals MVP Andre Iguodala, and obliged by climbing all over his back.

The manoeuvre was somewhat akin to a failed attempt at an AFL speccy and was on the same player - whose legs Dellavedova dove at in the second quarter as he scrapped for a loose ball - something Dellavedova did late last season that then earned the ire of Hawks star Al Horford.

Golden State centre and Boomers teammate Andrew Bogut didn't condemn Dellavedova before all but declaring he isn't a fan of constant quick fouls at the end of games.

"I'm a guy that gets hacked sometimes to go to the free-throw line and you have to knock them down, if you can go one for two at those points then good - it's (hacking a poor shooter) an interesting one, more and more teams are starting to do it,"Bogut said.

"It can make a game go a long, long time.

"He (Dellavedova) has done a good job with it, it's a strategy that worked once with Andre but he knocked one of two down."

Dellavedova himself had 10 points in a tight game but it was Draymond Green who led the way for the Warriors.

The power forward scored 22 points and pulled down 15 boards, leading from the front while Steph Curry was getting treatment for a calf injury sustained in the first half.

Stand-in Warriors coach Luke Walton admitting the potential for a nasty injury to Curry sent shivers through the camp.

"If he reported to us anything was hurting in the second half he was going to be done for the night," Walton said.

"We have no problem resting Steph if he needs the time to heal up."

In total, Curry finished with 19 points while also setting up seven baskets and claiming as many rebounds.

Cleveland star LeBron James had a game-high 25 points and nine rebounds for the Cavaliers.

The win took the Warriors' home winning streak to 32, a record that stretches back to last season and ties the 1996-97 Chicago Bulls for the seventh-longest of all time.

In Houston Patty Mills had a night to forget going one for five on shooting, while star teammate Tony Parker only scored two points as the Spurs lost to the Rockets 88-84.

Houston were led by James Harden, who had 20 points, and Dwight Howard who scored 11 points and pulled down 12 rebounds.

The loss drops the Spurs to a 25-6 record and four games behind the Warriors in the western conference.


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Source: AAP



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