The Golden State Warriors beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 129-120 to win their second NBA Championship in three seasons with a 4-1 finals series victory.

The Warriors, who beat Cleveland in the 2015 finals only to lose to them in 2016 after squandering a 3-1 series lead, went a record-setting 15 victories and just one loss in the playoffs.

Kevin Durant led the way for the Warriors with 39 points, with Stephen Curry contributing 34. </s> The 2019 NBA Finals between the Toronto Raptors and Golden State Warriors will be historic in several ways.

Toronto is making its NBA Finals debut, and it will be the first time the league’s championship series will feature games played outside of the United States. Golden State has reached the Finals for the fifth consecutive season, a feat accomplished only by the Boston Celtics, who went to 10 Finals in a row from 1957-66.

Game 1 is tonight at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto (9 p.m., ABC).

The Warriors, the top seed in the Western Conference, can become only the third franchise to win three consecutive titles in the past 50 years (the others are the Bulls from 1991-93 and 1996-98 and the Lakers from 2000-02). Golden State has won the title in three of the past four seasons.

The Warriors have won six NBA Championships, tied with the Bulls for third place all-time, behind the Celtics (17) and Lakers (16).

The Raptors, who finished second in the Eastern Conference but defeated top-seeded Milwaukee in six games in the conference finals, have won at least 50 games in each of the past four seasons and swept the two-game season series from the Warriors for the first time in 17 years.

Warriors star Kevin Durant will miss Game 1 due to the calf injury that has idled him the past five games (Golden State is 5-0 without him). DeMarcus Cousins (torn quad) is listed as questionable.

Kawhi Leonard is averaging 31.2 points per game in the playoffs for Toronto. Stephen Curry is averaging 27.3 points for Golden State.

Join the conversation in the comments </s> The Golden State Warriors need one win to sweep LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers and win their third NBA Championship in the last four years.

This is it. A win in Game 4 of the 2018 NBA Finals and the Golden State Warriors will win their third NBA Championship in the last four years — all of them against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. The possible final basketball game of the 2017-2018 season will live stream on Friday. But the game, if Cleveland cannot hold off the Golden State sweep, could also be the last game in Cleveland for the 33-year-old James, according to CBS Sports.

To find out how to watch a live stream of the 2018 NBA Finals Game 4, see the streaming information at the bottom of this article. Opening tipoff is scheduled for 9 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, on Friday, June 8. In the Pacific Time Zone, the live stream will get underway at 6 p.m.

James becomes a free agent after this, his fourth season in his second stint with his hometown Cavaliers, and according to Sports Illustrated, the San Antonio Spurs, Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Lakers, and Miami Heat appear to be the most likely destinations for the “King.” He may also choose to sign a new contract with Cleveland when all is said and done, SI reported.

After dropping Game 3 by a 110-102 score, despite playing on their home court, the Cavaliers now face a seemingly insurmountable 3-0 deficit, a hole that no NBA team has ever dug its way out from, as the Boston Globe recounted. In fact, only three teams in NBA history have ever forced a Game 7 after dropping the first three in a seven-game playoff series.

James said that the Cavaliers winning Game 4 and maintaining at least a chance to stage a historic comeback, the team will need to play smarter than in the first three games, according to ESPN.

“We’ve been in a position where we could win two out of these three games. So what do we have to do? Do we have to make more shots? Is it we have to have our minds into it a little bit more?” James wondered in an interview on Thursday.

Watch a preview of The Warriors vs. Cavaliers Game 4 in the video below.

To watch a free live stream of the potentially series-ending Golden State Warriors vs. Cleveland Cavaliers NBA Finals Game 4 showdown, use the stream provided by to ESPN3, the no-charge, online-only network of the sports media giant ESPN. The ESPN3 streaming network is available automatically with almost any internet service provider subscription.

There is also another way for fans to watch the fourth and potentially final game of the 2018 NBA Finals using a free live stream — but without a cable subscription. Fans may sign up for a free trial of one of the “over the top” streaming TV packages, such as Sling TV, or YouTube TV, or DirecTV Now. All of those services require credit card information and will charge subscription fees. But they each offer a seven-day free trial period, and if the subscription is canceled prior to the expiration of that week-long trial, fans can watch the Warriors vs. Cavaliers Game 4 stream live for free on Friday. </s> The Golden State Warriors are through to their fifth straight NBA Finals after a 119-117 overtime win over the Portland Trail Blazers.

Stephen Curry and Draymond Green combined to claim the game-clinching score in Portland.

The pair produced triple-double performances as the defending champions ensured they swept the best-of-seven Western Conference Finals series 4-0.

They will face either the Milwaukee Bucks or Toronto Raptors in the Finals.

Golden State join the Boston Celtics - who made 10 straight NBA Finals between 1957-66, winning nine of them - as the only team ever to reach at least five consecutive NBA Finals after winning their 11th consecutive play-off series.

"I hope it doesn't go unnoticed," said Warriors coach Steve Kerr. "Five straight Finals hasn't been done since the '60s, hasn't been done for a reason. It's very, very difficult." </s> The Toronto Raptors are getting a second chance at a first NBA Title when they tip-off against the two-time defending champion Golden State Warriors in Game 6 of the NBA Finals in Thursday in Oakland.

The Raptors were two minutes away from securing Canada's first-ever NBA title Monday in Game 5 before falling victim to a barrage of 3-pointers from Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry in a 9-2 finish that was historic on several levels.

Monday's 106-105 final not only produced the first one-point Finals margin since 2007, but it also made the Warriors just the sixth team in NBA history to win a potential elimination game on the road.

History remains on the Raptors' side entering Game 6, even though the scene has shifted back to Oakland. Of the 34 teams that have led a Finals 3-1, 33 have gone on to win the championship. The only exception was the Warriors in 2016, when the Cleveland Cavaliers rallied to win in seven games.

'We understand that the moment is the moment, but we still are staying in it,' Raptors guard Kyle Lowry said Wednesday. 'We're not too up, we're not too down. We're just one game, hey, we lost it, now we got to move on to the next one.'

Exacerbating matters for Golden State has been the loss of Kevin Durant, who returned from a calf injury to score 11 points in 12 minutes in Game 5, only to sustain a ruptured Achilles in the same leg. Durant is expected to miss the majority of next season, if not the entire 2019-2020 campaign.

Warriors players and fans were outraged during Game 5 when a contingent of Raptors supporters appeared to cheer Durant's injury, even as Toronto veterans Serge Ibaka and Kyle Lowry attempted to hush them and pat the rival star on the back.

'I expect our fans to be the loudest they have ever been, especially in the name of Kevin and bringing his type of spirit he would bring to the fight and the competitiveness,' Warriors guard Klay Thompson said Wednesday. 'I know our fans will do that because we deserve it, but more importantly, Kevin does for what he gave this team, this organization. There wouldn't be banners if it wasn't for his presence.'

The game will be the Warriors' last at Oracle Arena, which opened as the Oakland Coliseum Arena 47 years ago. Golden State will move to the Chase Center in San Francisco next season.

'This has been just an incredible environment in which to coach and play back in the day,' Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Wednesday. 'Even when the Warriors weren't any good, to come in here as a visitor and feel the energy in this building, you could tell that the fans loved the game.

'This was a basketball hotbed. And just the atmosphere out there, the energy, the noise, over the last five years with our team's rise, combined with that organic energy that this place has always had, it's just been an incredible experience to coach here.'

That energy wasn't enough to prevent Raptors wins in Games 3 and 4 after the Warriors earned a split in the two series-opening games in Toronto.

Raptors coach Nick Nurse said Wednesday he's not surprised the road team has won four of the first five games in the best-of-seven.

'Both teams are really good road teams and have been all season,' he said. 'Two really tough-minded teams playing, and you got to be a little more tough-minded on the road. And I think a lot of those games probably could have went either way.'

The team that had the upper hand in 3-point shooting has prevailed in the first five games of the series.

The Raptors outscored the Warriors 120-96 from beyond the arc in their three wins, while Golden State had a 99-57 dominance in long-range points in its two victories.

As for Durant, the former NBA MVP is likely to start rehabbing his surgically-repaired Achilles tendon almost immediately. And according to a specialist at the Mayo Clinic, he should be back to full strength within a year.

There are no guarantees, however, that Durant will ever feel quite the same after Wednesday's surgery, said Nancy Cummings, an orthopedic surgeon at Mayo Clinic and head orthopedic surgeon for the Minnesota Lynx Women's NBA team.

'It takes about a year to get all your strength back in that muscular complex,' she said in a telephone interview with Reuters.

'I think it's fair to say athletes will put higher demands on it when it's recovered, so that will take a longer time and some people will never feel totally the same after this injury.'

Recent history of NBA players who have ruptured an Achilles shows that they are out of action for about nine months on average.

So even if Durant makes a speedier-than-normal recovery, he is unlikely to be back much before the start of next season's playoffs.

Durant, 30, has the option to become a free agent this summer, so there is no guarantee the two-times NBA Finals' most valuable player will even be with the Warriors next season.

Cummings said knowledge of the best way to rehabilitate a ruptured Achilles had advanced in recent years.

'When I started my training in the '80s it was more 'we'll fix it and immobilize it' (but) tendons like to move,' she said.

'A functional rehab is better than a static rehab.'

Which is good news for professional athletes like Durant.

'Pro athletes have nothing but time afterwards to rehab so they're at an advantage,' she said.

'It starts almost straight away. We give them 10 days to let the incision calm down and then start to have them put weight on it in a functional brace or boot that allows tendon to see some stress.

'You start some exercises such as toe curls and things like that to get muscles around the Achilles moving.

'At about three months we start doing some light jogging if all looks well, and gradual return to sports specific activity, but that tissue that is repaired has to mature some and that typically is about the six-month mark.'

Cummings knew immediately when Durant sustained the injury that it was a ruptured Achilles.

'You see his heel drop down and calf muscle reverberate,' she said. 'It looks very ballistic. I knew the diagnosis the second I saw it.'

Durant's injury not only devastated Warriors fans, but also the supporters of the New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets, and Los Angeles Clippers, all of whom were reportedly interested in signing the two-time NBA Finals MVP this summer.

The only fans who did not seem upset over Durant's Achilles injury were few who cheered after the 7foot forward went down on Monday in Toronto.

'It was bulls***,' Warriors guard Klay Thompson said after Game 5. 'That was freaking ridiculous. I can't even put into words how mad I was about that.'

Some Raptors fans have attempted to make amends, including one anonymous Canadian who decided to send flowers instead.

According to NBC Sports, the Raptors fan sent a floral arrangement to the Warriors offices in downtown Oakland to apologize 'on behalf of Canada'.

The basket contained an assortment of carnations and a ribbon reading, 'Canada is sorry KD.'

'Dear KD and the Warriors: I can't even believe those dumba** Raptors fans cheered when they saw you were injured,' the card read, according to NBC Sports. 'I was watching the game and felt horrible. It was a total disgrace. I hereby apologize on behalf of Canada. Prayers for recovery.'

A GoFundMe page launched by a suburban Toronto man has raised nearly $30,000 for the Kevin Durant Charity Foundation.

The organizer, Hamzah Moin, said he started the fundraiser to support Durant after some Toronto Raptors fans seemingly reacted with joy when the Golden State Warriors star ruptured his Achilles in the second quarter of Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Monday night. Durant had surgery to repair his Achilles on Wednesday.

The Raptors lead the best-of-seven series 3-2 heading into Game 6 on Thursday night in Oakland, Calif.

'On behalf of the level-headed and true fans of Raptor Nation - from Toronto to Vancouver to Iqaluit to St. John's, and any fans living outside Canada: we wanted to say `sorry',' Moin wrote.

'We're sorry that some fans of Raptor Nation at the Scotiabank arena, Jurassic Park, and in some bars/restaurants showing the game, displayed an ugly side of fandom when they cheered on the injury of Kevin Durant.

'This isn't cool. This isn't right. This isn't what I expect from fellow Canadians.'

Moin set a goal of $40,000 for the fundraiser. Through mid-day Thursday in Toronto, it had taken in $27,649 from more than 1,000 donors.

On its website, the Kevin Durant Charity Foundation says its mission 'is to enrich the lives of at-risk youth from low-income backgrounds through education, athletic and social programs.' </s> The Golden State Warriors have won their second NBA championship within 3 years after defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers in 5 games.

See you at the parade! </s> Kevin Durant finally has the NBA championship that eluded him for nine seasons.

After spurning the Thunder to join the Warriors as a free agent last offseason, Durant capped a dominant NBA Finals performance with 39 points to lead Golden State to a 129-120 victory over the Cavaliers and close out the series in five games.

Durant was 14 of 20 from the floor in Monday's win and added seven rebounds and five assists and finished the series with a five-game average of 35.2 points, 8.4 rebounds and 5.4 assists. Durant was the difference as the Warriors won their second title in three years and won the rubber match in their so-called three-match with the Cavaliers.

Cavaliers forward LeBron James, playing in his seventh straight NBA Finals, scored a game-high 41 points and averaged a triple-double in the Finals. The first player Durant embraced following the victory was James, who gave a valiant effort himself and was matched up with Durant for most of the series.

Durant said he was "anxious and jittery" before Monday's game, but "prevailed" as he scored more than 30 points in each of the five games. </s> Golden State Warriors center Zaza Pachulia (27) celebrates with Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) after beating the Cleveland Cavaliers in game four of the 2018 NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena.

The Golden State Warriors have defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers to bring home their third NBA championship in four years. They defeated LeBron James and the Cavs with a final score of 108-85 on Friday evening, completing a perfect 4-0 sweep.

It was a pretty competitive Game 4 to start, as the Warriors jumped out to an early nine-point lead at the end of the first quarter, only to see the Cavaliers battle back and take a lead of their own in the second quarter, CBS Sports reports. But the Warriors used a late burst to push their advantage back to nine points at halftime, and the Cavaliers never got closer.

The Warriors used one of their patented third-quarter takeovers to seize control of the game. Up by 21 points at the end of the third quarter, they then cruised in the final 12 minutes. Steph Curry finished with 37 points, six rebounds, four assists, three rebounds, and three steals, while Kevin Durant registered 20 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists.

James finished with 23 points and spent the final minutes on the bench, contemplating what went wrong and maybe his next move. He said in a post-game press conference that he had a broken right hand, an injury he said was self-inflicted.

"What happened? Self-inflicted, post-game after Game 1," James said. "Very emotional, for a lot of different reasons. Understanding how important Game 1 is on the road for our ballclub, what would that have done for us. The way we played, the calls that was made throughout the course of that game, I had emotions on the game was taken away from us. I had emotions of you just don't get opportunities like this on the road, versus Golden State, to be able to get a Game 1. And I let the emotions get the best of me. I pretty much played the last three games with a broken hand, so that's what it is."

Overcoming obstacles all season long, the Warriors were not going to be denied and won the fourth straight finals matchup against Cleveland with ease.

It was the first sweep in the NBA Finals since 2007, when James was dismissed by a powerful San Antonio team in his first one. His eighth straight appearance didn't go well either, and now there's uncertainty where the superstar will play next.

Act IV between the Warriors and Cavs featured a drama-filled and controversial Game 1. But from there on, Durant, Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and the rest of this California crew showed why they're the game's gold standard.

And they may stay that way.

Not wanting to give the Cavs or their fans any hope despite the fact that no team has ever overcome a 3-0 deficit in the NBA playoffs, the Warriors built a nine-point halftime lead when Curry ignored a closeout by James and dropped a 3-pointer.

Then the league's best team tightened the screws on Cleveland in the third quarter, outscoring the Cavs 25-13 and prompting Golden State fans to begin those drawn-out "War-eee-orrss" chants that provide a perfect musical accompaniment to their 3-point barrages.

By the start of the fourth quarter, the only question was whether Curry would win his first NBA Finals MVP or if it would go to Durant for the second year in a row.

After surviving a rougher-than-usual regular season and beating top-seeded Houston in Game 7 on the road in the Western Conference finals, the Warriors withstood an overtime scare in Game 1 and joined an elite group of teams to win multiple championships in a four-year span.

Only Bill Russell's Boston Celtics, the "Showtime" Lakers and the Los Angeles squad led by Kobe and Shaq, and Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls have been as dominant in such a short period of time.

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report. </s> The Golden State Warriors are favored to win Game 6 of the NBA Finals Thursday night at Oracle Arena, while the Toronto Raptors are favored to win the franchise's first NBA championship in Game 7 on Sunday night in Toronto.

According to bookmaker.eu, the Warriors are -140 to win Game 6, while the Raptors are at -350 to win the series.

When the series began, the Warriors were favored to win in five or six games, but that was before they went down 3-1 and then lost Kevin Durant for the remainder of the series with a torn Achilles'. Durant had surgery on Wednesday in New York and has begun the clock on his rehab.

Now Steph Curry and the Warriors will try to win the last game ever held at Oracle Arena and try to force a Game 7 Sunday night.

"Protect our home court, feed off our crowd's energy, play for K and try to keep our season alive so there's a lot of things that you can tap into," Curry told reporters.

These were the odds to win MVP before the series began:
In basketball, the Golden State Warriors defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers in five games to win the 2017 NBA Finals. It is the second time they have won the Finals in last three years. Kevin Durant is declared NBA Finals MVP.