Cavs even NBA Finals in second straight OT thriller

MANILA, Philippines – The Cleveland Cavaliers held off the Golden State Warriors in overtime of an action-packed Game 2 of the NBA Finals, 95-93, to tie the series at 1-1 on Monday, June 8 (Sunday, June 7 US time) at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California. 

LeBron James was all over the place, finishing with 39 points, 16 rebounds, and 11 assists. Matthew Dellavedova, who started in place of the injured Kyrie Irving, hit two free throws with 10.1 seconds left to give the Cavs a one-point lead that essentially won the game.

Dellavedova also had 9 point and 5 rebounds in addition to playing great defense on Steph Curry, who was limited to his worst game of the NBA season: 19 points on 5-of-23 shooting and 6 turnovers – including the most crucial one at the end of overtime that didn’t give the Warriors a shot at a game-winner. 

The Cavs were on top by 11, 83-72, after a James triple with 3:14 left in regulation hit nothing but net. But the Warriors followed that with a 13-4 run, slicing the deficit to two after Harrison Barnes completed an and-one play. With 8 seconds remaining, Curry converted a finger-roll layup to tie the contest. On the next play, James missed a layup on a drive, sending the game to OT.

The Cavs scored the first 5 points of the extra session but two straight baskets from Draymond Green cut the deficit to one. After consecutive empty possessions from both sides, Curry was fouled with 29.5 remaining and hit two free throws.

With 10.1 seconds left, Dellavedova rebounded a missed triple by James Jones and was fouled by Barnes before proceeding to make both charities. After a time-out, Curry air-balled a jumper, forcing Golden State to foul James who split his visit at the line. 

With no time-outs left, the Dubs inbounded the ball to Curry whose bad pass resulted into a turnover and the sealer for Cleveland. 

Klay Thompson had a terrific game, finishing with 34 points and 5 rebounds. Green had 10 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 steals but threw away 4 turnovers.  

Timofey Mozgov had 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Cavs, which limited Golden State to 39.8% shooting from the field and just 8-of-35 sooting from downtown. The Warriors also committed 18 turnovers. 

Game 3, which takes place at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, will tip-off on Wednesday, June 10.

– Rappler.com