For better or worse, Matthew Dellavedova has a knack for making himself the story.
Stepping into Cleveland’s starting lineup for the injured All-Star Kyrie Irving on Sunday night, Dellavedova hit two free throws with 10.1 seconds left in overtime. He then harassed Stephen Curry into an air-ball jumper as the Cavaliers survived a furious rally by the Golden State Warriors for a 95-93 victory that evened the N.B.A. finals at one game apiece heading back to Cleveland on Tuesday night.
After eight full quarters and two overtimes, neither team has been able to achieve any meaningful separation, and LeBron James said the Cavaliers’ effort was a demonstration that they would not soon disappear.
Klay Thompson led Golden State with 34 points, but the usually high-scoring Warriors made only 8 of 35 3-point shots — many of them rushed from deep against a gritty Cleveland defense that was personified by Dellavedova.
Curry, the league’s most valuable player this season, said his shot “didn’t feel right” from the beginning and offered limited praise for Dellavedova, his unheralded opponent.
“He played hard and stuck to their game plan,” Curry said, adding: “I’m not going to let one game alter my confidence. I doubt this will happen again.”
James, however, saw Curry’s misfiring differently.
“It had everything to do with Delly,” James said. “He just kept a body on Steph. He made Steph work. He was spectacular, man, defensively.”
Forcing the Warriors into a tough, inelegant game more suited to the Eastern Conference, the Cavaliers did an excellent job trapping Curry and Thompson off the high screen. And Dellavedova bothered Curry by doggedly chasing him, not allowing Curry to free himself off the ball.
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