Kyrie Irving’s shot with 3.4 seconds left gives Cavaliers win over Warriors; Celtics edge Knicks

Kyrie Irving made a fadeaway jumper over Klay Thompson with 3.4 seconds left and the Cavaliers rallied just the way they did in historic fashion last June in the NBA Finals, beating Golden State, 109-108, on Sunday in Cleveland.

The Cavaliers trailed by 14 points, 94-80, early in the fourth quarter before rallying before a rowdy Christmas crowd. And as was the case in the Finals, it was Irving, who made a three-pointer in the final minute of Game 7, who made the biggest basket.

Golden State had one last chance but Kevin Durant lost his balance while coming off a screen and couldn’t get off a shot as time expired.

LeBron James had 31 points Irving scored 25 for the Cavs, who were down 3-1 in last season’s Finals before winning three in a row and the championship — the first for a Cleveland team since 1964.

Durant, making his first appearance in the league’s hottest rivalry, scored 36 and Thompson had 24 for the Warriors, who had their seven-game winning streak stopped.

The Cavs couldn’t quite catch the Warriors until James gave Cleveland a 105-103 lead — its first since the opening quarter — with a monstrous dunk that he celebrated by swinging on the rim like a kid at recess.

Stephen Curry’s three-pointer with 1:14 left put the Warriors up by three, but Irving scored on a layup and Cleveland shut down Golden State on the defensive end, forcing a 24-second violation.

Following a timeout, Irving dribbled deep into the lane and hit his off-balance shot over Thompson.

The Warriors set up a game-winning chance for Durant, but he stumbled with pressure applied by Richard Jefferson and fell to the floor and watched helplessly as Cleveland’s fans roared and Cavs coach Tyronn Lue clapped and screamed.

The teams will meet again on Jan. 16 and then not again unless they make it back to the Finals — a “three-quel” that would be the first in league history.

“Just to get back here and for them to get back to our place, a lot of things have to go right,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said.

The Cavaliers were playing their third game without starting guard J.R. Smith, who will miss three months after undergoing surgery on a broken right thumb.

at San Antonio 119, Chicago 100: LaMarcus Aldridge had a season-high 33 points and the Spurs beat the Bulls after nearly blowing a hot start.

Kawhi Leonard added 25 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. 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.

Parker had nine points in the final quarter while San Antonio improved to 9-4 at home after losing three of its first four at the AT&T Center.

Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas reacts after making a three-point shot against the Knicks on Sunday.

(Mike Stobe / Getty Images )

Dwyane Wade led the Bulls with 24 points, including 10 in the final quarter. Jimmy Butler added 19 points, and every Chicago starter except Rajon Rondo scored in double figures. Rondo was held to six points and two assists in 30 minutes.

Boston 119, at New York 114: Isaiah Thomas scored 27 points, Marcus Smart made a tiebreaking three-pointer with 47 seconds left after Boston blew a late lead, and the Celtics beat the New York Knicks, 119-114, on Sunday at Madison Square Garden.

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 made big defensive plays afterward.

Jae Crowder and Kelly Olynyk each had 16 points for the Celtics, who won for the fifth time in six games.

Carmelo Anthony scored 29 points and Derrick Rose had 25 for the Knicks, who fell to 22-29 in their NBA-record 51 Christmas appearances.

The Knicks led for much of the first half before Crowder made three consecutive three-pointers as Boston surged into the lead en route to a 56-48 halftime advantage.

The Celtics rarely built the lead much bigger in the second half, but also never let the Knicks make much of a dent in it, always coming up with some stops and points whenever it got within a couple of possessions.

Suddenly Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis scored all the points in the run that tied the score at 112 on Anthony’s layup with 1:06 to play, but Boston wasn’t rattled.

The Celtics worked it around to Smart for his three-pointer, and Bradley forced Anthony to turn it over on New York’s next possession. Thomas made a free throw to make it a four-point game and it stayed that way when Horford blocked Porzingis’ shot.

at Oklahoma City 112, Minnesota 100: Russell Westbrook had 31 points and 15 assists to help the Thunder defeat the Timberwolves.

Westbrook had 10 assists in the second half to help Oklahoma City take control, although he fell short of becoming the first Thunder player to score at least 40 points in four straight games. Steven Adams scored 22 points and Enes Kanter added 20 points for the Thunder, who shot 51.2% while winning their third straight.

Karl-Anthony Towns scored 26 points and Andrew Wiggins had 23 points for the Timberwolves. Minnesota had won three of five, including wins at Chicago and Atlanta.

Semaj Christon’s 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer gave the Thunder a 57-53 lead. Westbrook had 17 points at halftime, then made 4 for 6 shots and dished out five assists in the third quarter.