Golden State 93-95 Cleveland: LeBron James stars as injury-hit Cavaliers tie NBA Finals

Cleveland Cavaliers beat Golden State Warriors 95-93 in Game Two of NBA Finals series in Oakland
Matthew Dellavedova made two free throws to put injury-hit Cleveland ahead late in overtime
LeBron James led with 39 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists, negating loss of injured Kyrie Irving
It was a forgettable night for regular season MVP Stephen Curry, who scored just 19 points
With series tied at 1-1, Game Three takes place in Cleveland on Tuesday night
Boxer Floyd Mayweather and rapper will.i.am watched on courtside at the Oracle Arena

Published:
05:34 GMT, 8 June 2015

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Updated:
18:46 GMT, 8 June 2015

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The Cleveland Cavaliers let an 11-point lead slip in the fourth quarter but dug deep in overtime to beat Golden State 95-93 on Sunday and square the NBA Finals series at 1-1.

With boxer Floyd Mayweather and rapper will.i.am among the stars watching courtside, Matthew Dellavedova made a pair of free throws to put Cleveland ahead with 10 seconds to go in overtime and the injury-hit Cavs held on for the Game Two triumph.

LeBron James had scored 44 points in his team’s opening loss and again carried the offensive burden with 39 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists for the Cavaliers, who lost All-Star Kyrie Irving to a serious knee injury in Game One.

A pumped-up LeBron James celebrates as the Cleveland Cavaliers tie the NBA Finals series at 1-1 with a 95-93 overtime win in Game Two

Iman Shumpert (left) and James lead the celebrations after the Cavaliers overtime victory in Oakland on Sunday night

Shumpert and James embrace following the hard-fought road victory in California, which leaves the seven-match series tied at 1-1

Floyd Mayweather shakes hands with will.i.am courtside before they watch the second game of the NBA Finals series

Dressed in Money Team regalia, Mayweather was courtside to watch the Warriors and the Cavaliers lock horns on Sunday night

Mayweather, wearing a thick gold chain, took this courtside selfie as he watched the action and posted it on his Instagram account

Stephen Curry celebrates scoring for the Golden State Warriors but it was a disappointing night for the regular season MVP

Curry did, however, score in the dying seconds of the fourth quarter to take the contest into overtime

But James and the Cavs had the final say as they dug deep in overtime to snatch victory and return to Cleveland level at 1-1

Irving had surgery on Saturday to repair his fractured left kneecap, a procedure described as successful by the team.

James said it has been a difficult time for the team. ‘Very emotional win right here with everything we’ve been through,’ he told reporters. ‘For us to tough it out like this (and) be able to come back and even the series is big time.’

Cleveland’s relentless defence held Golden State to 39 per cent shooting and made it a forgettable night for regular season MVP Stephen Curry.

Curry had just 19 points on five-for-23 shooting but he capped the home team’s comeback with a game-tying lay-up with eight seconds left, forcing overtime.

Curry on the offensive during Game Two at the Oracle Arena in Oakland. He scored 19 points on the night

Curry leaps for the hoop to tie the contest at 87-87 with just 7.2 seconds left in the fourth quarter

Timofey Mozgov reaches to fire in a shot up against Draymond Green during the dramatic contest in Oakland

James has his eyes on the prize as he goes up against Green to shoot for Cleveland

James produces an incredible leap to try and reach the ball under pressure as the Cavs go on the offensive

James leaps and leans backwards to evade Green and pop off a shot during an engrossing Game Two of the Finals Series

Curry then put Golden State ahead 93-92 with a pair of free throws with half-a-minute left in the extra session but then fluffed a potential game-tying shot and committed a turnover on the Warriors’ last two possessions.

‘Shots I normally make, I knew as soon as they left my hand that they were off,’ Curry said. ‘That doesn’t usually happen. One game isn’t going to alter my confidence.’

Klay Thompson led Golden State’s offence with 34 points.

James performs defensive duties as he tries to prevent Harrison Barnes scoring for the Warriors

Festus Ezeli of Golden States goes up to shoot one-handed as Timofey Mozgov tries to get off the ground to stop him

Close combat as James is sandwiched by Harrison Barnes and Klay Thompson

Cheerleaders entertain the crowd during the game at the Oracle Arena as the Cavalier beat the Warriors

James recovers after the game in the locker rooms with an ice bath following his excellent performance that helped his side to victory

Cleveland had key additional key performances from Timofey Mozgov (17 points, 11 rebounds) JR. Smith (13 points) and Dellavedova, who led the defensive stand against Curry.

‘He’s a courageous kid that plays right,’ said Cavaliers coach David Blatt of Dellavedova. ‘He played big tonight, and we needed him to.’

Game Three is on Tuesday in Cleveland. The opening two games have both gone to overtime, a first for the NBA Finals.