THE BASICS

Tipoff: 5 p.m. Monday at Quicken Loans Arena. TV: TNT. Radio: KGMZ 95.7 “The Game” in Oakland and San Francisco, KRTY 95.3 in San Jose, KION 1460 and 101.1 in Salinas and Monterey.

THE RECORDS

Warriors: 35-9, No. 1 in the Western Conference, 3½ games ahead of Houston.

Cavaliers: 26-16, No. 3 in the Eastern Conference, seven games behind Boston.

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LATEST RESULTS

Warriors: After playing a near-perfect first half at Toronto and leading by 27 points, Golden State nearly blew that lead as the Raptors pulled within one point in the fourth quarter. But the Warriors were able to hold off Toronto 127-125 on Saturday night at Air Canada Centre. Kevin Durant scored 25 points and hit some big shots in the fourth quarter. Stephen Curry scored 24 as he returned from his ankle injury.

Cavaliers: The Indiana Pacers wiped out a 22-point first-half deficit and defeated Cleveland 97-95 in Indianapolis on Friday night. The loss was the Cavaliers’ third in a row. The Pacers outscored the Cavaliers 84-61 over the final three quarters.

PREVIOUS MEETING

On Christmas Day, the Warriors defeated Cleveland 99-92 at Oracle Arena. Klay Thompson hit the go-ahead 3-pointer to break an 92-92 tie with 1:33 remaining, then iced it with two free throws with 18.9 seconds left that put Golden State ahead 97-92. In all, Thompson scored 24 points, including the final seven. Durant had a stellar all-around game with 25 points, seven rebounds, three assists, two steals and five blocked shots.

MATCHUP TO WATCH

The Warriors’ Kevin Durant, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala vs. the Cavaliers’ LeBron James: Is there any other team in the NBA that can throw so many elite defenders at James? What other team could give him so many different looks? This is assuming Iguodala (hip) is ready to go. He sat out the second half Saturday night because of the injury.

INJURY UPDATE

Warriors reserve forward Omri Casspi has missed the past two games because of a back problem. Cavaliers guard Derrick Rose has a bone spur in his left ankle and has not played since Nov. 7. Guard Iman Shumpert had surgery on his left knee earlier this month and was expected to be out six to eight weeks.

THE PERFECT HALF

The Warriors played their best half of the season Saturday night at Toronto. They led 81-54 because they shot well, had great ball movement, limited their turnovers and played good defense. Statistically, they shot 71.1 percent from the field, had 22 assists and only one turnover. And they held the Raptors to 19 points on 36.8 percent shooting in the second quarter. At this point, the Warriors’ goal should have been to keep the pressure up in the third quarter so that they could rest the starters in the fourth.

BUT …

The Warriors were sluggish in the third quarter and Toronto gained momentum. The Raptors got within 94-85 with 3:16 left in the period before Durant drilled back-to-back 3-pointers to help restore order. But Toronto kept fighting and cut the lead to one point twice late in the fourth quarter. Had the Raptors completed the comeback and won the game, the Warriors would have gone down as the team that blew the biggest lead in the NBA this season.

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COMING UP SHORT

Isaiah Thomas, Cleveland’s big acquisition in the Kyrie Irving trade, missed the first 36 games while recovering from a hip injury suffered last season while with the Boston Celtics. He has played six games during a bumpy return to action. Cleveland is 2-4 since Thomas came back and 2-2 in the four games he has played. (He missed the other two because he is not ready to play in back-to-backs.) Thomas has started his past three games, playing 21, 19 and 25 minutes. So far, Thomas is averaging 21.0 minutes, 12.3 points and 3.3 assists per game. He is shooting only 35.3 percent from the field and is 5 for 26 in his past two games against Minnesota and Toronto. With Cleveland off since Friday, he should be good to go tonight.

TAILSPIN

The Cavaliers are on a three-game losing streak and have lost eight of 11. It’s not so much that they have lost three in a row — all on the road — but it’s the manner in which they have lost those games that is surprising. Leading into Friday’s collapse at Indiana, Cleveland was blown out 127-99 at Minnesota on Monday and 133-99 at Toronto on Thursday. During the three-game streak, Cleveland has shot only 26.5 percent (26 for 98) from 3-point range. Not good for a team that hoists 32.8 3-pointers per game, third in the league behind Houston (43.6) and Brooklyn (34.2).

SOMETHING HAS TO GIVE

Despite the Cavaliers’ slump, they still have a 13-game home winning streak. They haven’t lost at Quicken Loans Arena since Nov. 5 against Atlanta. The Warriors have won 12 in a row on the road and haven’t lost away from home since Nov. 22 at Oklahoma City. Like our Warriors Facebook page for more Warriors news, commentary and conversation.

QUARTERLY OBJECTIVE

Warriors posted their 10th 40-point quarter of the season when they scored 43 in the first on their way to a season-high 81-point half against Toronto. Houston is second in the league with nine 40-point quarters.

BONUS POINTS

In the second half Saturday, the Warriors had six turnovers that produced 10 Raptors points and gave up eight offensive rebounds that were converted into 12 second-chance points.

BLOCK OUT

In the Christmas Day game, the Warriors gave up 19 offensive rebounds to Cleveland. Lucky for Golden State, the Cavaliers only managed 14 second-chance points off those rebounds because they were only 5 for 16 on those extra shots.

CHANGING ROLE

Kevin Love had a big game against the Warriors last month with 31 points and 18 rebounds. He is having his best season as a Cavalier, averaging 19.2 points and 9.6 rebound. He is also shooting 46.2 percent from the field and 40.6 percent from beyond the arc. But when Thomas is on the floor, Love will have to adjust again to being the Cavaliers’ third option on offense, as he was when Irving was in Cleveland.