Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — The Cleveland Cavaliers eked past the Golden State Warriors, 95-93, in overtime in Game 2 to tie the National Basketball Association (NBA) final series at 1-1 on Monday PHT (June 8).
LeBron James led Cleveland with a triple-double performance of 39 points, 16 rebounds, and 11 assists.
Timofey Mozgov added 17 points and 11 boards in the win.
The Cavaliers were enjoying a six-point lead, 84-75, late in the fourth quarter before the Warriors went on a 12-3 run, capped by a layup from Steph Curry, to tie the game at 87, seven seconds left.
After a timeout, Cleveland had a chance to win the game but James misfired on a layup and Tristan Thompson missed a putback attempt to send the game into overtime.
The Cavaliers started the extra session with five straight points but Draymond Green with four consecutive of his own to keep the Warriors within one, 92-91, 2:00 left on the clock.
With 29.5 seconds left, a pair of free throws from Curry put Golden State ahead, 93-92.
Matthew Dellavedova responded with two free throws on the other end to give Cleveland back the lead, 94-93.
Curry missed a jumper on the next Warriors possession, forcing Golden State to foul James, who made a split from the line to make it a two-point advantage with 4 ticks remaining on the clock.
The Warriors had a chance to tie in the closing seconds but Curry’s pass to Klay Thompson was stolen by the Cavs as time expired.
Thompson topscored for the Warriors with 34 points while Curry finished with 19, shooting only 5-of-23 from the field.
