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OAKLAND – If you had told Jordan Bell over the summer that he’d be starting for the Golden State Warriors in a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Christmas, the rookie knows exactly what his reaction would have been.

“That’s what’s up,” Bell said, flashing his signature smile.

Bell started for the Warriors in one of their marquee games — a 99-92 win — even though Zaza Pachulia was cleared to play after having missed the team’s last six games because of left shoulder soreness.

The 22-year-old Bell said it’s not only an opportunity that he’d hoped for, it’s one that he’d thought would come.

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Steve Kerr said he started Bell because he matched up better against Kevin Love in what he called a “smaller, faster game.” He said Pachulia will start in the team’s next game against Utah.

Kerr pulled Pachulia aside before the game and explained his rationale to him, something that the center said meant a lot to him.

“One of the things that makes him great is his communication level,” Pachulia said. “It makes him amazing. He’s been a player. He understands what a player may go through mentally.”

Pachulia said he was “totally fine” with Kerr’s decision, adding that he’s willing to do whatever’s best for the team. That being said, he said his chat with Kerr helped clarify things. If they hadn’t talked, he said any player would have second-guesssed themselves.

“Even though you might be the smartest guy or the more experienced guy, you’re still going to go inside of your heart, and feel like, ‘What’s going on?” Pachulia said. “At least you’re going to ask yourself the question…That’s when you’re going to get messed up mentally.” Like our Warriors Facebook page for more Warriors news, commentary and conversation.

Kerr said that the team has missed Pachulia’s physicality and screen-setting in the starting lineup, but that matchups will always dictate his decision on whom he starts.

In what was Bell’s ninth start of the season, he finished with eight points on four-for-seven shooting, six rebounds, three assists, one steal, one blocked shot and one turnover.

Kerr credited him with making the “biggest rebound of the game.”

With 1 minute and 34 seconds left and the game tied at 92-92, Bell crashed the glass, grabbing a huge offensive rebound that led to Klay Thompson making a three-pointer from 27-feet.

“That was the key down the stretch,” Kerr said. “That changed the whole game.”

When asked what was going through his mind when he grabbed that rebound, Bell simply said his shot wasn’t falling so he tried to contribute in another way.

“I made sure to try go to the boards and get as many rebounds as possible, get the light-skinned, skinny dudes some more shots,” Bell said.

Bell was far from perfect, though. Just a few moments earlier, with the Warriors up 92-90 with 3 minutes and 17 seconds left, he committed a key turnover that led to LeBron James tying the game with a floater.

He gave himself a C+ grade on the game, and said he learned a lot from playing against the Cavaliers — mainly, don’t be timid.

“We want him to be more aggressive,” Kevin Durant said. “There were a few times tonight in the pick-n-roll they trapped him in the pocket, and he kind of hesitated a bit.”

Durant, however, was quick to point out that Bell has impressed him with how quickly he picks things up.

“He’s making adjustments each possession, and that’s pretty rare for a rookie,” Durant said. “So he might make a mistake one possession, and then he might do something spectacular the next.”

Draymond Green called Bell’s performance “phenomenal,” and credited him for helping the Warriors win.

Green said having Bell and Pachulia gives the Warriors two great and completely different looks. He said Pachulia is a great passer and a bruiser, while Bell is more quick-paced and athletic.

“They both bring something different to our team, but both are guys that we really need,” Green said.

That was especially clear last season, when the Warriors faced the Cavaliers in The Finals. Green said that Pachulia was key to the Warriors winning because he helped take Tristan Thompson out of the game.

Pachulia, in fact, said he took the Cavaliers’ decision to go small on Christmas as a bit of a nod to him.

“They had to make changes,” Pachulia said. “…I took it as a compliment.”

As for Bell, his childhood dream came true this Christmas. He grew up idolizing LeBron James. And on Monday, in front of a national television audience, he got to guard him for a bit.