CLEVELAND – Missing a third of their players on Saturday night in Cleveland, the Warriors needed their ragtag group to play with supreme effort, take care of the ball and make a few timely shots to stay competitive.

If they did those things, perhaps the Warriors – missing Steph and Seth Curry, Draymond Green (foot), Al Horford (sciatica), Jimmy Butler (knee) and De’Anthony Melton (rest) – would stand a chance against the full-strength Cavs with Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley.

Or the Warriors could just lean on another Pat Spencer masterclass, which led to a 99-94 victory and a jubilant locker room celebration.

“I think the other thing is that his coach realized that Pat is that (expletive),” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said.

After scoring 17 points and 16 in back-to-back games, Spencer earned his first start and scored a career-high 19 and dished out seven assists. After burying a triple midway through the fourth, Spencer turned to the Cavs crowd and talked smack.

“I just like competing,” Spencer said. “Can be cornhole, ping pong, you name it. I’m competing. So the energy was great in here all night.”

Golden State led 96-91 with a minute left, but Evan Mobley made a putback and Darius Garland canned a free throw to cut the lead to just two points with 21 seconds remaining.

In a game where all 10 active Warriors played, Gui Santos scored 14 points and made a free throw to put Golden State up 97-94 with 11.3 seconds left. Mitchell missed a 3-pointer with four seconds remaining as the Warriors snapped a two-game losing skid.

With Spencer in foul trouble for most of the first quarter, the Warriors’ offense scuttled while the Cavs’ attack did just enough to scrape out an 18-12 lead after 12 minutes.

But everything changed in the second period, when the Warriors outscored the Cavaliers 33-18 with Spencer available for most of it. Golden State pushed the pace against a Cavs team that appeared to be sleepwalking against a shorthanded opponent, leading 72-62 after three quarters.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr would not get into specifics, but he said he expects most of the Warriors’ wounded will play Sunday against the Bulls.

Kerr’s challenge

Kerr issued different yet similar challenges to his depleted team’s two polarizing 23-year-olds before the team took on the Cavaliers at Rocket Arena on Saturday night.

Guard Brandin Podziemski needed to be more willing to play off the ball. Jonathan Kuminga, making his first start since Nov. 12 in Oklahoma City, had to run the floor with effort.

“We’re urging him to get up the floor, instead of holding it back in the backcourt and asking for the ball. I want him to be the first guy down the floor,” Kerr said of Kuminga.

With his agent Aaron Turner in the building, Kuminga finished 1 of 10 from the field, often taking ill-advised shots and layups in traffic. Podziemski was not statistically prolific, but still had a respectable 10 points and two assists off the bench.

“Part of the thinking, bringing him off the bench was to let him, let him watch the start of the game and remind him that he’s got to play the way we want him to play,” Kerr said of Podziemski.

Steph Curry update

Steph Curry has missed the past four games with a quad strain suffered on Thanksgiving Eve against Houston.

Instead of travelling with the team on the current road trip, Curry has remained in the Bay Area as he works with the Warriors’ medical staff. Kerr expressed optimism he will be able to play in the team’s next home game on Dec. 12.

“I talked to (team doctor) Rick (Celebrini) yesterday, and he said Steph is doing well and that he’s started back on the court yesterday, and everything is going well,” Kerr said.

Kenny Atkinson’s Warriors influence

Steve Kerr has seen a multitude of assistant coaches move on to various head coaching spots over his 11-year tenure with the Warriors. Few have been as fiery as current Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson, who was a lead assistant for Kerr from 2021-24.

Atkinson’s intense, numbers-based approach was appreciated by the more laid-back, feel-based Kerr.

“I learned a lot from him, and you know, he looked at the game a little differently than I did,” Kerr said. “He had a much more analytical mind than I did, and it was one of the reasons I brought him in.”

Atkinson, who was awarded the 2025 Coach of the Year honor after going 64-18 last season, made sure to give Kerr praise for helping him also develop as a coach. Atkinson had previously coached the Nets for four seasons before being fired.

“It was like finishing school for me,” Atkinson said. “Steve understands leadership as well as anybody, any coach I’ve been around.”