G Kyrie Irving led all scorers with 40 points as the Cavaliers beat the Warriors on Friday. "The magnitude of the games, especially the last game, it hit me in a very deep place," said Irving, who made 15 of 27 shots from the floor and drained seven 3-pointers -- tied for second most in a Finals game. "Glad that we got the monkey off our back in terms of just getting one win in this series in terms of going against this great team."

Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James moved past Michael Jordan into third place on the NBA Finals' career scoring list during Game 4 against the Golden State Warriors on Friday night at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.James' and-one basket with 9:56 left in the first quarter vaulted him past Jordan, who scored 1,176 points in 35 career Finals games.James now trails only Jerry West (1,679) and Kareem Abdul-Jabaar (1,317) on the Finals' scoring list.The four-time league MVP also passed Jordan (1,463) for the most made free throws in postseason history during Friday's game and tied Shaquille O'Neal for the seventh-most games played in playoff history (216).During Game 5 of the Cavaliers' Eastern Conference Finals series against the Boston Celtics, James eclipsed Jordan for the league's postseason scoring mark.Cleveland scored 49 points in the first quarter, an NBA Finals-record for any period, and opened an 86-68 lead at halftime, with James totaling 22 points, eight assists and six rebounds.The Cavs' 86 points were the most scored by any team in the first half of an NBA Finals game. The 154 combined first-half points also set a record for the most points ever scored in any Finals half.Golden State led the best-of-seven series 3-0.

Cleveland Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith claimed his Twitter account was hacked after the phrase "Cavs in 7" was sent out over social media shortly after his team was pushed to the brink of elimination in the NBA Finals."I got out of the shower and my phone was buzzing. I did not tweet that," Smith told Cleveland.com after the Golden State Warriors secured a 3-0 edge in the series with a 118-113 victory on Wednesday."I'm smarter than that."Smith, 31, admitted that he believed in the message that the Cavaliers could become the first NBA team to overcome a 3-0 deficit in a playoff series. In fact, three NBA teams have only forced a Game 7 after losing the first three contests in a series -- with the last time occurring in 2003."But I didn't tweet that," Smith repeated after his 16-point performance in Game 3. "I would be much smarter than that to tweet that at literally 12:04 (a.m.), right after the game."

F Kevin Love tallied nine points, 13 rebounds and six steals in the Cavs' 118-113 loss to Golden State in Game 3.

G J.R. Smith recovered from a poor first two games to score 16 for the Cavs, who now trail Golden State 3-0 in the NBA Finals.

G Stephen Curry finished with 26 points and 13 rebounds as the Warriors took a 3-0 lead over Cleveland in the NBA Finals.

F LeBron James scored 39 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and handed out nine assists for Cleveland. James passed Sam Jones (1,143 points), Bill Russell (1,151), and Elgin Baylor (1,161) for fourth place on the NBA Finals all-time scoring list in the first half. He passed Russell (315 assists) for third all time in Finals assists, too.

G Kyrie Irving scored 38 points in a 118-113 loss to Golden State. The Cavs went scoreless over the game's final 3:09.

G Klay Thompson had 30 points as the Warriors took a 3-0 lead over Cleveland in the NBA Finals.

F Kevin Durant led the Warriors with 31 points, and Golden State mounted a furious comeback to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 118-113 in Game 3. Up 3-0 in the best-of-seven series, the Warriors can become the first team in NBA history to go through the playoffs without a loss with a win in Game 4 on Friday night in Cleveland. "It's not done," Durant said. "Closeout game is always the toughest. We have to be even better in Game 4 if we want to take this. It's an exciting time, but we still have a lot of work to do."

The Cleveland Cavaliers, down 2-0 after blowout losses to the Golden State Warriors, may switch up their starting lineup for Game 3 of the NBA Finals.Cavs coach Tyronn Lue is considering starting Iman Shumpert in place of JR Smith at shooting guard for Wednesday night's game in Cleveland, according to ESPN.Shumpert experienced cramping in the second half of the Cavs' 132-113 Game 2 loss on Sunday night and required intravenous fluids after the game, a team source told ESPN.Shumpert finished with six points, four rebounds and three steals in 22 minutes off the bench, shooting only 1 of 6 from the field.The Cavs may go with Shumpert in the starting lineup because of his defense in trying to slow down Warriors stars Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant.On Sunday night, Curry and Durant teamed up to get the Warriors within two victories of another championship. Curry recorded his first career postseason triple-double with 32 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds while Durant -- seeking his first ring... [More]

G Klay Thompson finished with 22 points and connected on four 3-pointers Sunday in the Warriors' Game 2 win over the Cavs."Klay played so well in Game 1, without shooting well, and to me that usually indicates that the ball's going to go in," coach Steve Kerr said. "I just felt like he was poised to come out and make some shots tonight. I thought he was fantastic."Thompson played in his 78th career playoff game, breaking a tie with SG Jeff Mullins for the most in franchise history.

G Kyrie Irving scored 19 points on 8-for-23 shooting in Cleveland's Game 2 loss at Golden State on Sunday."We ride or die with Kyrie," Cavs F Kevin Love said. "Kyrie knows what he's capable of. So I would imagine Kyrie's going to come out and have a great Game 3."

F Kevin Durant became just the third player since 1984 to have at least 30 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks in an NBA Finals game. Durant led the Warriors with 33 points and 13 rebounds, and he hit four of his eight 3-point attempts."His defense was amazing, and we needed (it)," coach Steve Kerr said of Durant, whose feat matched that of Hakeem Olajuwon in 1986 and Tim Duncan in 2003. "It was probably the key to the whole game."

F Kevin Love had 27 points and seven rebounds Sunday in the Cavaliers' Game 2 loss at Golden State.

F LeBron James had 29 points, 11 rebounds and 14 assists Sunday, the NBA-record-tying eighth postseason triple-double of his career.He equaled Magic Johnson's playoff record.

G Stephen Curry recorded his first career postseason triple-double -- 32 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists -- in Game 2 of the NBA Finals.

C Enes Kanter of the Oklahoma City Thunder said his father has been detained by the Turkish government. Kanter, with a warrant out for his own arrest in his native country, tweeted Friday morning that his father, Mehmet Kanter, was arrested in Turkey. Enes Kanter is an outspoken critic of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and a known supporter of Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, a spiritual leader who has been in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania for the past 15 years. Kanter was briefly detained by airport officials in Romania on May 20 after having his passport revoked by the Turkish government, but he was able to return to the United States on May 22 with a green card.

The father of Oklahoma City Thunder center Enes Kanter has been detained by the Turkish government.The NBA player, with a warrant out for his own arrest in his native country, tweeted Friday morning that his father, Mehmet Kanter, was arrested in Turkey."HEY WORLD, MY DAD HAS BEEN ARRESTED by Turkish government and the Hitler of our century. He is potentially to get tortured as thousand others," Kanter wrote on Twitter.Enes Kanter is an outspoken critic of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and a known supporter of Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, a spiritual leader who has been in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania for the past 15 years.CNN reported that Kanter's father was detained by security forces in Istanbul's Kadikoy district "as a part of the ongoing investigation into FETO," according to Turkey's official news agency Anadolu.FETO is the Turkish government's name for the followers of the Gulen, standing for "Fethullah Terrorist Organization."The Turkish government accuses Gulen... [More]

F LeBron James recorded 28 points, 15 rebounds, eight assists and eight turnovers in Thursday's 113-91 loss at Golden State in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. "I pride myself on not turning the ball over, and I did it too much," James said. "Twenty turnovers for 21 points on the road and 56 points (allowed) in the paint ... We did a great job covering the 3-point line, but other than that, they played a heck of a game." James connected on two 3-pointers, the second of which moved him past Reggie Miller (320) for second place on the NBA's all-time postseason list. Ray Allen is the all-time leader with 385.