Friday 5 June 2015 10:05, UK
The Golden State Warriors took a 1-0 lead in the NBA Finals after a thrilling 108-100 overtime win against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
NBA MVP Stephen Curry scored 26 points for the Warriors, who rallied after trailing for most of the night to force an extra period, and dominated in overtime after the Cavaliers lost Kyrie Irving to injury.
The Warriors, who are seeking a first title in 40 years, took control of the game on a mixture of fine shooting and some costly turnovers from Cleveland.
LeBron James scored 44 points, his best-ever showing in an NBA Finals game, while Irving added 23 points before he limped off to the locker room after re-injuring his sore left knee.
The Cavaliers looked like being only the fourth winner on Golden State's home-court all season for much of regulation, until a three-pointer from Andre Iguodala kicked off a 12-2 Warriors run in the fourth quarter.
James responded with a three-pointer to pull the Cavaliers level at 96-96 with 2:38 remaining in regulation before Curry sank a jump shot to put Golden State back on top in the final minute.
Timofey Mozgov was fouled by Golden State's Aussie center Andrew Bogut and hit two tense free throws to pull the Cavaliers equal again at 98-98.
Curry drove to the hoop on the next Warriors possession but Irving was able to deflect the shot from behind and deny the basket. Cleveland's Iman Shumpert missed a shot at the buzzer and the teams regrouped for overtime.
Harrison Barnes opened the extra frame with a three, and with Curry adding four free throws, Cleveland were always up against it - they ended up hitting only one shot in the extra period after starting 0-for-9.
"It was just a classic five minutes that we needed to get that win," Curry said.
Irving will have a scan on his injury and admitted he was worried the injury he was already struggling with had been aggravated.
"It was a little bit different than what I had been experiencing," Irving said. "Totally different than other times. I don't know what I felt but obviously it didn't feel right. This is a setback."
