LeBron James

Warriors Win Game 5, Lead NBA Finals 3-2

After 40 years without an NBA Championship, the Warriors are one victory away.

Their pulsating 104-91 win over the Cavaliers in Game 5 Sunday inside a jam-packed Oracle Arena gave the Warriors a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven NBA Finals.

They can win it all with a victory in Game 6 at Cleveland on Tuesday.

Stephen Curry led the Warriors with 37 points –- including 17 in the fourth quarter. Four other Warriors scored in double figures, with Draymond Green putting in 16, Andre Iguodala 14, Leandro Barbosa 13 and Klay Thompson 12.

The Cavaliers resorted to the Hack-A tactic in the final three minutes, repeatedly sending Iguodala to the free-throw line. He missed his first five attempts before dropping in his sixth.

LeBron James led all scorers with 40 points. He added 14 rebounds and 11 assists to complete the triple-double. Tristan Thompson finished with 19 points, while J.R. Smith tossed in 14 and Iman Shumpert added 10.

The game featured 20 lead changes, with the Warriors going up by as much as 10 and the Cavs pushing ahead by as much as eight.

STANDOUT PERFORMER

Curry was phenomenal, particularly late, making 5-of-7 (including 3-of-5 from deep) from the floor in the fourth quarter. He added seven rebounds and four assists.

Iguodala submitted another of his wonderfully balanced, across-the-board games: 14 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals.

Barbosa came off the bench and provided an offensive spark that offset at hot start by Smith, Cleveland’s primary bench scorer.

TURNING POINT

Up 85-84 with 5:10 to play, the Warriors went on an 11-2 run to take a 96-86 lead with 2:43 left.

Holding Cleveland to only a pair of free throws during the stretch, the Warriors hit a pair of 3-pointers, one by Iguodala and another by Curry the punctuate the rally and force the Cavaliers to call a timeout.

The Warriors closed the game with a 19-7 run over the final 5:10.

INJURY UPDATE

Warriors: No injuries listed. F Brandon Rush and C Ognjen Kuzmic, both healthy, were on the inactive list.

WHAT’S NEXT

Game 6 is scheduled for Tuesday night (6 p.m. PDT) at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.

Visit CSN Bay Area for more Warriors coverage.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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