Cavaliers 109, Warriors 108
Golden State’s Stephen Curry (front) is fouled by Cleveland’s Channing Frye as Kyrie Irving closes in during Sunday’s game. The Warriors led for the majority of the game and held a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter before the Cavaliers rallied to win on Irving’s short jumper with 3.4 seconds left.
CLEVELAND — With another clutch shot, Kyrie Irving took the Warriors on a trip down memory lane.
Irving dropped a short, turnaround jumper over Klay Thompson with 3.4 seconds left as the Cleveland Cavaliers rallied just the way they did in June’s NBA Finals to defeat Golden State 109-108 on Sunday in a marquee Christmas matchup that more than lived up to the hype.
Down by 14 early in the fourth quarter, the Cavs chipped away and then put the ball in the hands of Irving, whose step-back three-pointer over Stephen Curry on June 19 helped seal Game 7 and gave Cleveland its first major pro sports championship since 1964.
This time, Irving went deep in the lane before spinning and making his shot over Thompson, one of the league’s best defenders.
“The kid is special,” LeBron James said of his teammate. “It was never in doubt.”
Golden State had one last chance but Kevin Durant, who led all scorers with 36 points in his first game in the league’s hottest rivalry, lost his balance coming off a screen and couldn’t get off a shot as time expired.
Durant said, he felt he was fouled by Richard Jefferson, who appeared to have stepped on Durant’s right foot before the stumble.
“I was trying to make a move,” he said. “I didn’t fall on my own.”
James scored 31 points with a season-high 13 rebounds, Irving added 25 points and Kevin Love 20 for the Cavs, who were down 3-1 in the Finals before storming back to stun a Warriors team that won 73 games during the regular season, but came up one victory short of winning their second consecutive title.
Thompson added 24, Draymond Green 16 and Curry 15 — on 4 of 11 shooting — for the Warriors, who had their winning streak stopped at seven and fell to 9-1 against Eastern Conference teams.
The biggest present under the tree for basketball fans this holiday was filled with drama, intensity and more than a few moments that sparked reminders of last season’s brilliant Finals.
“‘It lived up to what everyone wanted it to,” James said.
Irving made a three-pointer from the wing that looked a lot like the one he made on June 19, but his bucket over Thompson had a higher degree of difficulty.
“That’s a really hard shot,” Warriors Coach Steve Kerr said. “I thought Klay played tremendous defense. You don’t do anything different.”
The Warriors set up a game-winning chance for Durant, but he stumbled after it appeared as if stepped on hia right foot by Jefferson and fell to the floor and watched helplessly as Cleveland’s fans roared and Cavs Coach Tyronn Lue clapped and screamed.
“We all think we’re fouled on every play in every single game,” Jefferson said. “That’s why I say I know the referees have a very hard job. I switched to his body. He looked like he lost his balance. He was trying to regain his balance and as soon as I saw him start to stumble, I ran off.”