ANKARA
The Cleveland Cavaliers have defeated the Golden State Warriors 95-93 in an overtime thriller to even the NBA Finals series at 1-1.
LeBron James, who carried the team with his “triple-double” despite going 11-for-34 from the field, finished with 39 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists.
Asked what it took to win Sunday, James said “everything”, describing the victory "a total team effort".
The overtime scenario in Game 2 was reminiscent of Game 1, which ended 108-100 in OT after a 10-2 Golden State run.
But this time LeBron and co. managed to stay in the game with a decent mix of offense and defense, as back-to-back overtimes in the first two games marked a first ever in NBA Finals.
"I tried to give it all to my teammates. And they do a great job of giving it back to me. Total team effort," said James, after notching his 5th triple double in NBA Finals.
"To be back in the same position we were in three days ago and to come back and even the series is big time."
The Cavaliers, who have been shaken due to point-guard Kyrie Irving's season-ending injury, found themselves in control with 3:13 remaining in the fourth quarter, leading 83-72.
It is when the Warriors went on a 15-4 run to get right back into the game, tying at 87 apiece with 7.2 seconds to go thanks to a Stephen Curry lay-up, and forced overtime in their home turf.
The Cavaliers started the nerve-wrecking overtime on a 5-0 run to lead 92-87, but the Warriors -- who were eyeing to make it 2-0 in the series -- pulled off another run (6-0) to lead 93-92 with 29 seconds left.
At the clutch, Lebron James had his shot attempt denied by Warriors forward Draymond Green, but forward Andre Igoudala made a turnover, giving the Cavaliers a second chance.
On the Cavaliers' second attempt, Aussie point-guard Matthew Dellavedova jumped for the offensive rebound and earned two critical free throws for his team.
Dellavedova made no mistakes from the free throw line, and the Warriors -- without a timeout to carry the ball to half court -- could not make a shot attempt, as the Cavaliers won the Game 2 of the 2015 NBA Finals series.
For the Cavaliers, Dellavedova scored 9 points and grabbed 5 rebounds, while Russian center Timofey Mozgov scored 17 points and pulled down 11 rebounds.
The Cavaliers' tireless power forward Tristan Thompson scored only 2 points but pulled down 14 big rebounds, half of which were on the offensive end.
For the Warriors, who now have only lost their 4th home game (47 wins including regular season), Most Valuable Player Stephen Curry scored 19 points on dodgy 5-23 shooting, while Klay Thompson added 34.
Curry only went 2-for-15 from the three point line, 13 misses a record in NBA Finals history.
When Dellavedova defended the MVP, Curry was shooting 1-for-13 from the field.
Draymond Green scored a “double-double” with 10 points and 10 rebounds, but it was not enough for the Warriors to defend their home ground this time.
Game 3 will be played at Quicken Loans Arena on Tuesday night, as the series heads to Cleveland.
