Cleveland Cavaliers defeat Golden State Warriors to force NBA title decider

The Cleveland Cavaliers took another step in their historic comeback attempt with a 115-101 win over the Golden State Warriors on Thursday to force a once-unthinkable decisive seventh game to the NBA Finals.

Published on: Jun 17, 2016, 09:32:15 IST

By Anonymous, Cleveland

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The Cleveland Cavaliers took another step in their historic comeback attempt with a 115-101 win over the Golden State Warriors on Thursday to force a once-unthinkable decisive seventh game to the NBA Finals.

Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) handles the ball against Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30). (AFP Photo)

The LeBron James-led Cavaliers, one victory away from becoming the first team to win an NBA championship after falling behind 3-1 in the Finals, will now head to Oakland for Sunday’s deciding game riding a wave of momentum.

Cleveland used an explosive first half in which they led by as many as 22 points to set the tone and never allowed the usually sharp-shooting Warriors to settle into a rhythm or get any closer than seven points the rest of the way.

The Cavaliers built a 24-point lead in the third that looked like it might spell the end for the Warriors but the reigning champions finally closed out the quarter on a 10-0 run to pull within nine points.

But the Cavaliers, who got a game-high 41 points from James, managed to hang on for the win and keep alive their hopes at a maiden NBA championship.

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