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Warriors complete comeback to reach NBA Finals

Defending champions the Golden State Warriors upstaged the Oklahoma City Thunder 96-88 to advance to the NBA Finals.

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The Golden State Warriors will defend their NBA championship after completing a remarkable comeback against the Oklahoma City Thunder, taking out Monday's much-anticipated game seven 96-88.

After breaking the NBA's and Chicago Bulls' regular-season wins record with 73, the Warriors were facing elimination from the Western Conference finals after trailing 3-1 but a Stephen Curry masterclass sealed Golden State's spot in the NBA Finals for a second consecutive season.

The Thunder did mount a late charge, going on a 7-0 run inside the final two minutes but the Warriors extinguished Oklahoma City's hopes thanks to MVP Curry, who made three free throws before sealing the win with a shot from beyond the arc to set up a rematch with the Cleveland Cavaliers, starting Thursday.

Curry was a constant threat from long range, posting seven three-pointers to finish with 36 points as the Warriors became the second team in the past 20 years to rally from a deficit of more than 13 points in a seventh and deciding play-off game.

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The only other team to do so were the Los Angeles Lakers against the Portland Trail Blazers in 2000.

Seeking to snap back-to-back defeats for a place in the Finals, Kevin Durant (27 points) and Russell Westbrook's (19 points, 13 assists) Thunder side stormed out of the blocks, outscoring the Warriors 24-19 in the first quarter.

The Thunder, having led by as many as 13 points, then maintained their lead for a 48-42 advantage at half-time.

But that was as good as it got for the Thunder as Curry took centre stage, leading the charge in the third period.

After nailing the three-pointer to level the match at 54-apiece with seven minutes remaining, Curry then drained his shot from beyond the arc to give the Warriors the lead.

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It was more of the same in the final quarter, despite the Warriors missing consecutive lay-ups, with Curry coming up trumps again with a three-pointer and then a jump shot to give the home team an eight-point lead.

And despite being outscored 28-25 in the quarter, the Warriors withstood the Thunder to become the first team since 1981 to win the conference finals after trailing 3-1.

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