ANKARA
The Golden State Warriors defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 104-91 to lead 3-2 in the NBA Finals, with one win separating them from championship.
Stephen Curry, the Most Valuable Player of 2014-2015 regular season, erupted with 37 points on a 7-13 shooting from the three point line Sunday night to lift the Warriors over Cavaliers for a Game 5 victory.
The crowd at Oracle Arena, who were deafening after Curry's three pointer gave his team an 11-point cushion with 1:22 to go in the game, may not have to see another game in their home turf as the Warriors are on the brink of ending a 40-year drought.
Playing center, Warriors combo forward Draymond Green eked out 16 points and 9 rebounds and 6 assists, while Andre Igoudala, who made his second start of the season, was the x-factor of the game with 14 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists.
After the game Warriors' coach Steve Kerr said: "Andre was brilliant again tonight. He does everything for us. He’s our best defender on LeBron. He’s an incredible decision maker."
Cavaliers' superstar LeBron James delivered once again for his team with a monster triple-double, 40 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists, but his teammates were not in a good mood.
Aussie point-guard Matthew Dellavedova, who is filling the position of injured Kyrie Irving, scored just 5 points and made 2 assists in 41 minutes of action.
Power forward Tristan Thompson was again a beast in the paint with 19 points and 10 rebounds, but his performance was not enough to beat the "Dubs".
Iman Shumpert and JR Smith, whom the Cavaliers added to the team from the Knicks during the regular season, combined for 24 points on dodgy 8-for-24 shooting.
LeBron James joined Jerry West (42 points, 13 rebounds, 12 assists) as the only two players to record a 40+-point triple double in NBA Finals history.
He also recorded his 6th Finals' triple-double, the second most after the Lakers legend Earvin "Magic" Johnson, who has eight.
The last team to overcome a 3-2 deficit in the NBA Finals was again a team led by James, the Miami Heat, in the 2012-2013 season against the San Antonio Spurs.
The series now shifted to the Cleveland, where the Cavs and the Warriors will battle in Game 6 on Tuesday, 9 p.m. eastern time. (Wednesday, 0000 GMT)
* The stats were taken from NBA.com
