Cavaliers vs. Warriors: Game 2 Score and Twitter Reaction from 2015 NBA Finals

The Cleveland Cavaliers made history Sunday night, winning the franchise's first-ever NBA Finals game after five losses (four in 2007, one this year). 

The Eastern Conference champions pulled out a 95-93 overtime victory in Game 2 at Oracle Arena against the Golden State Warriors, tying the series at one game apiece.

The Cavaliers had a little over seven seconds to finish off Golden State in regulation. Everybody knew LeBron James was getting the ball, and he nearly took on three Warriors defenders to win the game. His layup was off the mark, and Tristan Thompson's putback rimmed out as well. You can view the final play below:

Many felt Andre Iguodala fouled James early in his drive around the perimeter. A member of the Cavaliers told ESPN's Dave McMenamin that referee Tony Brothers admitted to missing the play altogether:

LeBron may be the best player on the planet, but he has now missed his last four shots that would've either tied the game or put his team ahead in the final minute of an NBA Finals game, per Mike & Mike.

Cleveland quickly rebounded from its disappointing end to the fourth quarter by jumping out to a 92-87 lead in overtime. The Cavs offense went cold, though, allowing Golden State to take a 93-92 lead after two free throws from Stephen Curry with 29.5 seconds remaining.

When all looked lost, Harrison Barnes fouled Matthew Dellavedova following an offensive rebound, which put the Cavs point guard on the line for two shots with 10.1 seconds left in overtime. He knocked down both, and that proved to be enough, as Curry air-balled a jumper on Golden State's next possession. The Warriors then turned the ball over following a free throw from James to end the game.

Bleacher Report's Mike Freeman felt the breathless finish only added to the underdog allure surrounding Cleveland:

It was another virtuoso performance from James, who finished with 39 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists. According to ESPN Stats & Info, only one other player has posted a 35-15-10 game in the NBA Finals:

Although James only shot 11-of-34 from the floor, ESPN's J.A. Adande argued that his field-goal percentage only told part of the story:

Bruce Arthur of the Toronto Star drew a somewhat different parallel to put LeBron's performance in perspective:

ESPN's Brian Windhorst pointed to a couple of notable stats regarding James' playoff record:

James isn't worried that fatigue will start becoming a factor later in the series as he continues to carry Cleveland, per Adande:

Stephen Curry, meanwhile, had one of his worst games of the playoffs. He shot just 5-of-23 for 19 points while missing 13 of his 15 three-point attempts. The Warriors wouldn't have had a chance were it not for Klay Thompson's 34 points.

All night long, the Cavs defense stymied Curry at every opportunity. According to NBA on ESPN, no player has missed more threes in an NBA Finals game over the past 30 years:

The All-Star point guard admitted it simply wasn't his night, per CBS Sports, adding that he expects to perform better in Game 3, per USA Today's Sam Amick:

The nature of the victory was all the more impressive considering how shorthanded Cleveland was.

Without a doubt, the season-ending injury Kyrie Irving was the biggest topic of discussion going into Game 2. When Irving exited Game 1 in overtime and limped back to the locker room, his time in the Finals looked to be over. The Cavs confirmed the obvious Friday, announcing the 23-year-old point guard was out for the rest of the season with a fractured left kneecap.

Knocking off the 67-win Warriors was an uphill battle for Cleveland before Irving's injury. Take him out of the lineup, and the Cavaliers' chances would seem to dwindle even further.

Cavs general manager David Griffin still felt confident about his team's chances as long as James is on the floor, however.

"It's hard to imagine that our team is David and anyone is Goliath when Goliath is on our team," he said before the game, per USA Today's Jeff Zillgitt. "It's really hard to say too much of 'We're the underdog' when you have a player of that nature. But it's pretty clear our guys have a found a way to rally around each other."

Through the first half, Irving's absence was obvious to all watching the game, but the Cavaliers managed well nonetheless. They were helped by a slow pace to the game, especially in the early stages. The two teams were tied 20-20 after the first quarter.

Cleveland looked to be entering the danger zone as it fell behind 20-12, but it went on an 8-0 run over the final three minutes of the quarter to prevent any sort of massive run by Golden State.

Pro Basketball Talk's Kurt Helin praised James for helping dictate the tempo of the game and not rushing things when he had the ball in his hands:

The Cavs' strong defense carried over to the second quarter as they continued throwing the Warriors out of their rhythm. They were up by as many as seven before Golden State closed the gap with halftime nearing. The Warriors were down 47-45 heading into the locker room.

Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the first half was how well Dellavedova locked down Curry. The Australian floor general offered little for Cleveland on offense, but his defense proved invaluable. Bleacher Report's Ethan Skolnick didn't see Dellavedova give the NBA MVP any space off the ball:

Curry had just eight points on 2-of-10 shooting in the first half. ESPN Stats & Info gave Cavs fans a faint glimmer of hope with this tweet:

In essence, the first half came down to a head-to-head battle between James and Thompson, who each had 20 first-half points. Take out James and Cleveland shot 10-of-28 from the field, while the Warriors were 8-of-25 without Thompson.

Grantland's Zach Lowe didn't mince words when discussing how well the 25-year-old shooting guard played in the opening 24 minutes:

Although James unquestionably shouldered much of the scoring burden, the output from Cleveland's bench was more promising than it had been in Game 1—particularly James Jones' eight points. NBA.com's David Aldridge noted the Cavs' reserves needed just two quarters to surpass their entire Game 1 scoring total:

The second half continued the trend of less-than-beautiful basketball. NBA.com's John Schuhmann compared it to a typical Eastern Conference slugfest:

Adande argued the uglier the game, the better off the Cavs would be:

Indeed, Cleveland repeatedly prevented the Warriors from getting out in transition and hounded them out on the perimeter. As a result, they had just 14 points in the third quarter.

Granted, the Cavaliers weren't much better offensively with 15 points themselves. Still, few expected Cleveland to be leading after the third quarter, so a three-point edge, 62-59, was a positive development.

The second half also illustrated how James can impact the game in so many ways other than his scoring. CBS Sports' Matt Moore brought up how LeBron was dreadful from the field to start the third quarter and in the early stages of the fourth, but it still felt like he was dominating the proceedings:

Only a few players in the world could execute a pass like this to set up a three-pointer for J.R. Smith:

James' supporting cast came through in a big way in the fourth to preserve the lead. Smith and Dellavedova combined to score 14 of the team's first 17 points in the quarter as the Cavs' lead swelled to 11 points, 79-68, with five minutes remaining.

Following a LeBron three-pointer to maintain the Cavaliers' double-digit advantage, the Warriors fouled Thompson on a few possessions to get the ball out of James' hands. The strategy worked, as Golden State trimmed the deficit from eight points to three in the process.

Eventually, Barnes made it a two-point game with 1:23 to go after throwing down a two-handed jam and knocking down the subsequent free throw. Barnes then had a chance to tie it up on the Warriors' next possession, but his shot hit the back rim.

A terrible offensive possession for the Cavaliers left the Warriors ample time to find the shot that would get them back level. With Cleveland playing safe to avoid fouling, Curry weaved through traffic and found himself wide open in front of the basket. His finger roll hit nothing but net to make it an 87-87 game with 7.2 seconds to go in regulation.

You couldn't help but think of Irving's injury as the Cavaliers set up for their final shot. Maybe with the All-Star point guard on the floor, the Warriors wouldn't have been able to focus so much attention on James. Instead, LBJ had to navigate through a maze of defenders just to find a half-open look.

Cleveland managed well without Irving, but you still wonder if the Cavs will be able to hold up over an entire series. It doesn't help that they've now played in back-to-back overtime games, with Game 3 scheduled for Tuesday.

LeBron discussed the win on Bleacher Report's Uninterrupted:

Winning in Oakland was critical, though, for the team to have any chance whatsoever of prevailing in the Finals. Coming back from an 0-2 deficit would've been nearly impossible for the Cavaliers.

Golden State should still be considered the favorite. The Warriors have more depth, and Curry may have played the worst game he'll have in the series.

Game 3 shouldn't be considered a must-win for either team, but it might offer a better idea of whether the Cavaliers' reliance on James will be sustainable.