Warriors 104, Cavaliers 91
OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Golden State Warriors moved within one win of their first championship in 40 years Sunday night, pulling away from the Cleveland Cavaliers late en route to a 104-91 victory in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.
The Warriors will take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series into Cleveland for Game 6 on Tuesday night.
Game 7, if necessary, would be Friday in Oakland.
With Golden State clinging to a one-point lead with just over five minutes to play, forward Andre Iguodala and point guard Stephen Curry combined for 10 points in an 11-2 spurt that produced the Warriors' biggest lead of the game to that point, 96-86.
Iguodala and Curry connected on 3-pointers in the key run as the Warriors used teamwork to overcome a brilliant solo effort by the Cavaliers forward LeBron James.
James recorded his second triple-double of the Finals with 40 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists, all game highs.
He saved 16 of his 40 points for the fourth quarter, including a 28-foot 3-pointer that gave Cleveland its last lead of the night, 80-79, with 9:19 to go.
The Cavaliers hung within eight in the final two minutes, but Curry's seventh 3-pointer established an 11-point cushion with 1:22 to go.
Curry nearly offset James' 40 points with 37 of his own, hitting 13 of 23 from the field and seven of his 13 3-point attempts.
The Warriors shot 46.2 percent (12-for-26) from beyond the arc, 48 percent (36-for-75) from the floor overall.
Making his second start of the series, Iguodala contributed 14 points, eight rebounds and seven assists to the Warriors' second consecutive win after they fell behind 2-1 in the series.
Warriors power forward Draymond Green had nine rebounds to go with 16 points and five assists. Forward Harrison Barnes added eight points and a team-high 10 rebounds.
James' 40 points came on 15-for-34 shooting.
The Cavaliers shot just 39.5 percent from the field in the game.
Power forward Tristan Thompson recorded a 19-point, 10-rebound double-double for the Cavaliers. Guard J.R. Smith came off the bench to add 14 points, but he missed 10 of his 14 3-point attempts.
The Warriors finished the third quarter on a 13-4 run to take a 73-67 lead, matching their largest margin of the game to that point.
Barnes turned a Curry miss into a three-point play with 3.2 seconds remaining in the first half, giving the Warriors a 51-50 lead. Golden State overcame a 20-point first half by James to take the slim halftime advantage.
Curry was the Warriors' leading scorer in the half with 15 points, hitting three of four from 3-point range. The Warriors made five of their 10 3-point attempts in the half.
NOTES: After the Warriors made a big splash with a new starting lineup in Game 4, both teams stuck with the same look to start Game 5. ... Cavaliers star SF LeBron James recorded his second triple-double of the series. Only four players in NBA history have recorded multiple triple-doubles in a Finals: James, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Wilt Chamberlain. ... James had one steal in the game, enabling him to pass PG Jason Kidd (302) for sixth place on the all-time list in postseason games. He also made seven free throws, moving him one ahead of PF Karl Malone (1,269) for third on the postseason list. ... Asked before the game to assess the physical condition of PG Matthew Dellavedova, who experienced exhaustion after Game 3, Cavaliers coach David Blatt said, "(He's) certainly more himself than he was before Game 4, and hopefully we'll benefit from that." ... The Warriors entered the game having made 19 of their last 44 3-point attempts (43.2 percent), a five-quarter stretch during which they outscored the Cavaliers 139-106. Golden State opened the series 23-for-82 (28.0 percent) on 3-pointers and was outscored 267-256 over that span. ... Warriors coach Steve Kerr assured before the game that C Andrew Bogut's diminishing minutes was strategy-related, not due to an injury. "He's fine," Kerr said.