LeBron James powers Cavs over Warriors to level Finals

LeBron James scored 39 points, grabbed 16 rebounds and dished out 11 assists in one of his greatest performances, sparking Cleveland over Golden State 95-93 in over-time Sunday to level the NBA Finals.

The four-time NBA Most Valuable Player played 50 minutes in the dramatic triumph, which was not decided until Iman Shumpert stole the ball from Steph Curry to deny the Warriors a shot at the final buzzer.

"Total team effort," James said. "(It took) everything. I tried to give it to my teammates and they gave it back to me."

The Cavaliers evened the best-of-seven championship series at 1-1 with games three and four on Tuesday and Thursday in Cleveland.

Russian center Timofey Mozgov had 17 points and 11 rebounds for Cleveland and Tristan Thompson added 14 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who also did a superb job of shutting down Curry.

Cleveland got two clutch go-ahead free throws from Matthew Dellavedova with 10 seconds remaining in over-time as the Australian started in place of Kyrie Irving, who suffered a fractured left kneecap in a 108-100 game one over-time loss.

"Very emotional win right there," said James. "We have got a long way to go. If we defend as good as we did tonight, we've got a good chance against anybody."

Klay Thompson led Golden State with a playoff career high 34 points while Curry, the NBA Most Valuable Player, had 19 points on 5-of-23 shooting, the 3-point ace hitting only 2-of-15 from beyond the arc.

It was a key victory for the Cavaliers, as teams that fall behind 2-0 in the NBA Finals have lost 28 of 31 times. And it come in an arena where Golden State, which won an NBA-best 67 games this season, had lost only three times in 50 prior starts in the regular season and playoffs.

The Cavaliers are trying to bring the city of Cleveland its first major sports champion since the 1964 Browns won the NFL crown while the Warriors seek their first title in 40 years.

In the prior eight playoff series in which James had been on the losing side in game one, his team bounced back to win game two. This was the ninth.

"These situations only make us stronger," Cavaliers coach Dave Blatt said. "I thought they played their hearts out."

Curry endured his worst shooting game of the season but drove to the hoop for a game-tying layup at 87-87 with 7.2 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. James tried for a winning layup in the dying seconds but missed, as did Tristan Thompson's tip-in attempt, forcing over-time.

Iman Shumpert hit a 3-pointer and James added two free throws to give Cleveland a 92-87 over-time advantage, but Draymond Green hit back-to-back baskets to pull Golden State within one.

After five failed possessions, Curry lured Smith into fouling him and Curry made both free throws with 29.5 seconds remaining to put the Warriors ahead 93-92, their first lead after half-time.

Green blocked a James layup attempt but the ball went out of bounds. Cleveland's James Jones missed a 3-pointer but Dellavedova rebounded and was fouled, then hit two tension-packed free throws to put the Cavaliers ahead 94-93.

Curry missed a go-ahead jump shot and James grabbed the rebound and was fouled. James hit a free throw and Shumpert denied Golden State a final shot.

"We have got to do a better job of creating that pace," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "We've got to give our guys better looks."

After Thompson's 3-pointer to open the fourth quarter pulled Golden State level at 62-62, the Cavaliers went on a 21-10 run to seize command.

James scored eight points in the span, including two 3-pointers, while Dellavedova added seven points and Smith six, each of them hitting a 3-pointer, as the Cavaliers matched their biggest lead at 83-72 with 3:13 remaining.

The Warriors answered with a 13-4 run, Curry scoring five points and Harrison Barnes making a dunk and free throw off a Smith foul to lift Golden State within 87-85 with 83 seconds to play, setting up the late drama.

Golden State, the NBA 3-point leaders, went only 4-of-17 from beyond the arc in the first half but only trailed 47-45 at half-time.
Source: AFP