5 Jun 2015

Warriors beat Cavs in game one OT thriller

4:20 pm on 5 June 2015

The opening game of American basketball's NBA finals went to overtime in Oakland before the Golden State Warriors ran away to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 108-100.

LeBron James set a personal finals points-scoring record with 44 in the Cavs' losing effort in the best-of-seven series opener.

LeBron was the star of the show for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

LeBron James couldn't get the Cavaliers over the line in game one of the finals Photo: Photosport

The NBA's Most Valuable Player Steph Curry put Golden State ahead at 102-98 in extra time with two pairs of free throws before forward Harrison Barnes made it 105-98 with a three-pointer at a raucous Oracle Arena in Oakland, and there was no way back from there for Cleveland.

The score had been tied at 98-98 with just 31.9 seconds left in regulation before Curry was denied a layup by a superb block from Kyrie Irving, then LeBron James missed a jump shot for the Cavaliers with only 3.6 seconds remaining.

Point guard Curry scored a team-high 26 points on 10-of-20 shooting while forward James weighed in with 44, his most ever in a Finals game, in a losing cause as the Cavaliers were outscored 10-2 in overtime.