Jun 14, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Harrison Barnes (40) dunks the ball over Cleveland Cavaliers guard Mike Miller (18) and center Timofey Mozgov (20) in game five of the NBA Finals at Oracle Arena on Jun 14, 2015. Ezra Shaw-Pool Photo via USA TODAY Sports
June 14 (Reuters) – – The Golden State Warriors won the battle ofsmall-ball and defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 104-91 on Sunday to move within a win of their first NBA title in 40 years.
Stephen Curry scored 37 points and the Warriors withstood a 40-point triple-double from LeBron James to grab a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series.
They can clinch their first championship since 1975 with a win in Game Six on Tuesday in Cleveland.
Their Game Five win was a battle of speed, with both teams benching their big men as a strategic move.
After the Warriors benched center Andrew Bogut to return to their run-and-gun style in a 21-point Game Four victory, Cleveland responded by limiting starting center Timofey Mozgov to just nine minutes on Sunday.
The move kept Cleveland close deep into the fourth quarter until Andre Iguodala scored five straight points to put Golden State ahead 91-84 with less than four minutes remaining.
Curry, who scored 17 points in the fourth, added two late
three-pointers and free throws to help seal the win.
Iguodala finished with 14 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. James tallied 14 rebounds and 11 assists for his second triple-double of the series.
(Reporting by Jahmal Corner; Editing by Ian Ransom)