With the NBA's Most Valuable Player struggling, LeBron James showed his worth to the Cavaliers by leading Cleveland to an improbable 95-93 overtime victory vs. Golden State on Sunday in Game 2 of the NBA Finals. James dominated the Warriors with 39 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists, slowing the pace and picking the NBA's top-rated defense apart most of the night.
Despite being without guard Kyrie Irving due to a knee injury, the Cavs held the Warriors in check for all but the final three minutes of regulation. Cleveland survived a furious comeback that sent the game to overtime and evened the best-of-7 series at 1-1 heading into Tuesday's Game 3 at Quicken Loans Arena.
At the final buzzer, James spiked the ball near the sideline, sending it floating high in the air above the crowd at Oracle Arena, still stunned after watching guard Steph Curry cap a brutal night with an airball and a game-ending turnover in the final 10 seconds.
Timofey Mozgov had 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Cavs, and J.R. Smith contributed 13 points off the bench. Matthew Dellavedova, starting for the injured Irving, had only nine points on 3-of-10 shooting, but made two free throws that finally gave the Cavs the lead for good with 10.1 seconds left and hounded Curry into a miserable 5-of-23 shooting night.