CLEVELAND (AP) - Kyrie Irving dropped a fadeaway jumper over Klay Thompson with 3.4 seconds left and the Cleveland Cavaliers came back to beat Golden State just as they did last June in the NBA Finals, 109-108 on Sunday.
The Cavs trailed 94-80 early in the fourth quarter before rallying before a rowdy Christmas crowd. Irving made the biggest basket, as was the case in the Finals when he hit a late 3-pointer in Game 7.
Golden State had one last chance but Kevin Durant was tripped coming off a screen and couldn’t get off a shot as time expired.
LeBron James had 31 points, and Irving added 25 for the Cavs. They were down 3-1 in the Finals before winning three straight and the championship - the first for a Cleveland team since 1964.
Durant had 36 points in his first appearance in the league’s hottest rivalry.
THUNDER 112, TIMBERWOLVES 100
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Russell Westbrook had 31 points and 15 assists in Oklahoma City’s victory over Minnesota.
Westbrook had 10 assists in the second half, but fell short of becoming the first Thunder player to score at least 40 points in four straight games.
Steven Adams added 22 points, and Enes Kanter had 20. Karl-Anthony Towns led Minnesota with 26 points, and Andrew Wiggins had 23.
LAKERS 111, CLIPPERS 102
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Nick Young and Timofey Mozgov scored 19 points apiece and the Lakers snapped their 11-game losing streak in their rivalry with the Clippers.
Lou Williams and D’Angelo Russell added 14 points each for the Lakers, who hadn’t beaten their Staples Center co-tenants since opening night of the 2013-14 season. The streak was tied for the Lakers’ longest against any team since moving to Los Angeles a half-century ago, and it was the Clippers’ longest active winning streak against any opponent.
But with Clippers cornerstones Blake Griffin and Chris Paul sidelined by injuries, the Lakers had a season-high seven scorers in double digits. They surged from a halftime deficit to an 18-point lead during a dynamite third quarter for their second win in 14 games.
CELTICS 119, KNICKS 114
NEW YORK (AP) - Isaiah Thomas scored 27 points, Marcus Smart made a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 47 seconds left after Boston blew a late lead, and the Celtics beat New York.
The Knicks wiped out a late nine-point deficit with an out-of-nowhere 11-2 run in a little more than a minute, but Smart answered with his shot and Avery Bradley and Al Horford also made big defensive plays.
Jae Crowder and Kelly Olynyk each had 16 points to help the Celtics win for the fifth time in six games. Carmelo Anthony scored 29 points and Derrick Rose had 25 for the Knicks. They fell to 22-29 in their NBA-record 51 Christmas appearances.
SPURS 119, BULLS 100
SAN ANTONIO (AP) - LaMarcus Aldridge had a season-high 33 points and San Antonio beat Chicago.
Kawhi Leonard added 25 points and 10 rebounds, and Tony Parker had 13 points and eight assists.
Chicago rallied from a 20-point deficit to lead by three points midway through the third quarter but could not sustain the push, taking its third straight loss. Dwyane Wade led the Bulls with 24 points, including 10 in the final quarter. Jimmy Butler added 19 points.
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