Cleveland Wins Game 2 Of The NBA Finals

Despite the absence of two key players, the Cleveland Cavaliers were able to take Game 2 of the NBA Finals behind the triple-double effort of LeBron James.

The Cavaliers were able to overcome a collapse in the fourth quarter as they won over the Golden State Warriors 95-93. James logged in 39 points, 16 rebounds along with 11 assists as he carried the depleted lineup of Cleveland to a victory on the toughest home court in the league. The Warriors, who have a 47-3 record at the Oracle Arena, were unable contain James or the tough defense of the Cavs.

James credited their win to a total team effort even as he shot 11 of 34 on the floor. He said it was a big thing for them to get back and even up the series. Stephen Curry struggled on the floor but was able to convert a layup to tie the game for the overtime. This was the second overtime in the 2015 NBA Finals. He also put the Warriors in front 93-92 with less than thirty seconds left in overtime.

Draymond Green blocked the left-hand layup of James but Cleveland retained possession. After a miss by James Jones from the three-point-line, Matthew Dellavedova got the rebound before he was fouled. Dellavedova put the Cavs ahead with his two free throws with around ten seconds left on the clock. James grabbed the rebound after an air-ball by Curry and shot one of the two free throws with less than five seconds left in the game.

James praised Dellavedova after he made his free throws. He said they knew they could count on Dellavedova as he gave everything he had during the game.

After the second free throw of James went in, Curry ran across the court and tried to pass to Klay Thompson. However, the ball was batted away by Iman Shumpert and gave Cleveland the win in the second game of the NBA Finals.

James said they have a chance in beating any team in the world if they play the same defense in Game 2 of the series. The victory is the first win of the franchise in the NBA Finals. They lost to the San Antonio Spurs in 2007 without winning a single game.

Cleveland had to win the second game since 28 out of 31 teams with a 2-0 lead went on to win the series.

LeBron James Leads Cleveland To Win Game 2 Of The NBA Finals - image credit:bleacherreport.com

LeBron James still has the task of carrying Cleveland to its first NBA championship in 51 years as Kyrie Irving was sidelined due the fractured kneecap he suffered in Game 1. He joins two other Cleveland players in the sideline, Anderson Varejao and Kevin Love.

Cleveland coach David Blatt used the same lineup that won the second and third game of the Eastern Conference finals after Irving was sidelined due to an injury. Dellavedova, who started in place of Irving, played tough defense on Curry throughout the game.

While Curry scored 19 points, he was limited to a 5 out of 23 shooting percentage. Klay Thompson picked up the slack as he scored 34 points in the game. However, Golden State was limited to 8 of 35 from behind the arc. They were also outrebounded by the Cavs, which nearly lost the second game in the NBA Finals after a collapse in the fourth quarter.

James had a few breaks during the game and appeared to be getting tired as the game went on. He was nearly sidelined after he was hit in the face by Green when he attempted a layup in the fourth quarter. He rested close to the baseline for a while before he returned to make two free throws.

The pull-up three-pointer of James in the fourth quarter appeared to be the final nail in the coffin as he extended the lead of the Cleveland to 83-72. It silenced the boisterous crowd at the Oracle Arena. However, the fans came back to life as Curry and Andre Igoudala buried consecutive three-pointers. The three-pointer of Curry broke his scoring drought that lasted over eighteen minutes. Two more free throws by Curry and a layup by Thompson allowed Golden State to trim down the lead of Cleveland.

The tying finger-roll of Curry with 7.2 seconds left forced Cleveland to call a timeout. After the break, James was isolated with Igoudala at the top of the key. However, the layup of James rimmed out and Tristan Thompson missed a tip-in as Game 2 of the NBA Finals went into overtime.

Shumpert opened the overtime with a three-pointer while James added a pair of free throws to give Cleveland a 92-87 lead. Green scored two straight baskets for Golden State that trimmed down the lead of Cleveland. Missed opportunities on both sides came before Cleveland got the ball following an errant pass by Green.

A jump-ball was called after James was tied-up by Green. While James got the ball during the jump, he was called for a violation. Curry made his two free throws to give the Warriors its last taste of the lead before Cleveland went on to tie the 2015 NBA Finals.

Posted by Andre Monohan on Monday June 08 2015, 11:27 AM EST. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under World. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0