NBA Finals Game 2

2018 NBA Finals Game 2. The Cavaliers defeated the Warriors 95–93 in overtime, tying the series at 1–1 and stealing homecourt advantage heading into Cleveland. For the first time in NBA Finals history, the first two games were decided in overtime, with the Cavaliers winning their first Finals game in franchise history. LeBron James tallied his fifth Finals triple-double with 39 points, 16 rebounds, and 11 assists while moving solely into second all-time in Finals triple-doubles behind Magic Johnson's 8. James, who was 11-for-35 in the game shooting, played 50 minutes and led all scorers. James either scored or assisted on 66 of Cleveland's 95 points, and his 83 points in the first two games of a Finals was also second all-time to Jerry West's 94 in the 1969 Finals. Klay Thompson led the Warriors with 34 points. Curry added 19, but he struggled mightily against the Cavaliers' defense, going 5-for-23 from the floor, including 2–15 from 3-point range. Curry set an NBA record for most missed three-point attempts in an Finals game with 13. Matthew Dellavedova's defense on Curry was huge as Curry was 0–for-8 against him.

The margin was close through the first three quarters, with neither team leading by more than 8. The Warriors jumped out to a 20–12 lead, but the Cavaliers closed the quarter on a 8–0 run to tie the game at 20. The Warriors led 31–25 early in the 2nd quarter, but the Cavaliers went on a 15–2 run, taking a 40–33 lead. They settled for a 2-point lead at halftime, leading 47–45. The third quarter was low scoring, with the Cavaliers scoring 15 points and the Warriors 14 points. Heading into the 4th quarter, the Cavaliers led 62–59. After three tight quarters, the Cavaliers began to pull away, building an 83–72 lead with just over 3 minutes remaining in the fourth. However, the Cavaliers squandered the 11 point lead as the Warriors went on a 15–4 run to tie the game at 87, capped off by a Curry finger roll layupwith eight seconds remaining. Out of a timeout, James drove towards the basket as he went for a game winning layup, but he misfired, and the rebound tipback attempt by Tristan Thompson was unsuccessful.