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The Cleveland Cavaliers changed tactics again, attacking small-ball Golden State Warriors lineups with size, but got the same result in Game 6 of the NBA Finals as in the previous two games: Within two points at the half, they wore down as the game went on, and lost 105-97.

Forward Andre Iguodala had 25 points for the Warriors, while guard Stephen Curry added 25 points and eight assists. Draymond Green, giving up six inches and 20 pounds against the Cavaliers’ Timofey Mozgov while playing out of position at center, had a triple-double, with 16 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.

Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James fights against the defense of Golden State Warriors forwards Harrison Barnes, right, and Andre Iguodala on Tuesday in the first half of Game 6 of the NBA Finals in Cleveland. Larry W. Smith/EPA/Landov hide caption

itoggle caption Larry W. Smith/EPA/Landov

Mozgov had 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Cavaliers, while LeBron James added another absurd line to his dominant series, scoring 32 points while grabbing 18 rebounds and giving out 9 assists.

James ended the series with per-game averages of 36 points, 13 rebounds and 9 assists — and an unheard-of 46 minutes. While his shooting percentages weren’t stellar, Cleveland had few other options — no other Cavalier averaged more than 14 points per game.

Losing starting point guard Kyrie Irving in Game 1 left the Cavaliers with virtually no depth, and while they gutted out wins in the next two games with physical defense and an all-LeBron offense, the workload wasn’t sustainable. Matthew Dellavedova, an emergency Irving replacement whose energetic play in the two Cavaliers wins took the Warriors by surprise, scored one point in 25 minutes on the floor.

It’s a painful loss for Cleveland sports fans, who haven’t been able to celebrate a title in professional football, baseball or basketball since 1964.

For the Warriors, the championship follows a regular season in which the team sprinted past the rest of the league to a record of 67-15, seven more wins than any other team. It’s Golden State’s first title since 1975, and fourth overall, with the team winning in 1947 and 1956 when it still was located in Philadelphia.

“We knew if we keep grinding and grinding it out, we’re going to win games,” Iguodala said after the game. “That’s what we did all year.”

The forward, who didn’t start a game for the Warriors this season until the penultimate game of the Finals, was named Most Valuable Player of the series.

Steve Kerr became the seventh coach to win an NBA title in his first season with a team.

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Did the St. Louis Cardinals use their familiarity with former executive Jeff Luhnow to break into the data systems Luhnow uses at his new job with the Houston Astros? That’s one of the questions federal authorities confirm they’re investigating.

There’s no word on any potential charges in the case, or on who within the Cardinals’ organization might have been involved. The breach occurred last year and centered on proprietary information about players and team operations.

A source in federal law enforcement has confirmed the federal investigation to NPR’s Carrie Johnson; the Cardinals say the team is cooperating with the inquiry.

Luhnow became the Astros’ general manager in late 2011; prior to that, he was a vice president in the Cardinals’ organization, focusing on evaluating players. A report today by The New York Times says investigators suspect the Cardinals broke into the Astros’ network of special databases where the team kept “discussions about trades, proprietary statistics and scouting reports.”

The information compiled by Luhnow could be particularly valuable — he’s a former business consultant whose analytical approach was credited with modernizing how the Cardinals evaluated talent. Despite being a divisive figure, he rose to lead the team’s scouting department.

According to a 2014 Bloomberg Business profile of Luhnow, “During the seven years he ran amateur scouting, no team had more draft picks make it to the big leagues than the Cardinals.”

According to The Times, the investigation “has progressed to the point that subpoenas have been served on the Cardinals and Major League Baseball for electronic correspondence.”

The newspaper says federal investigators were brought in after a trove of confidential Astros documents was posted online last year — and that suspicions eventually revolved around “a master list of passwords used by Mr. Luhnow” and others who had left St. Louis to join the Astros. That brought up the possibility that Cardinals officials might have used the passwords to gain access to the Astros’ system.

The FBI’s Houston office is leading the investigation into whether the Cardinals accessed the Astros’ private files. Carrie passes along a statement from FBI special agent and Houston office spokeswoman Shauna Dunlap:

“The FBI aggressively investigates all potential threats to public and private sector systems. Once our investigations are complete, we pursue all appropriate avenues to hold accountable those who pose a threat in cyberspace.”

The St. Louis Cardinals have released a statement:

“The St. Louis Cardinals are aware of the investigation into the security breach of the Houston Astros’ database. The team has fully cooperated with the investigation and will continue to do so. Given that this is an ongoing federal investigation, it is not appropriate for us to comment further.”

Major League Baseball issued its own reaction, saying that it has “fully cooperated with the federal investigation into the illegal breach of the Astros’ baseball operations database.”

When the federal inquiry ends, MLB says, “we will evaluate the next steps and will make decisions promptly.”

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Updated 10:55 p.m. ET:

For the third time in six years, the Chicago Blackhawks have won the Stanley Cup. Their 2-0 victory Monday night over the Tampa Bay Lightning even offered an opportunity the team didn’t have the two previous times — the chance to celebrate the title on its home ice.

It’s Chicago’s sixth Stanley Cup overall, having previously also won in 1934, 1938 and 1961, as well as the two recent titles in 2010 and 2013.

Defender Duncan Keith scored the first goal, putting in his own rebound in the second period. It was only his third goal of the playoffs and his 13th of the season. After the game, he was named the most valuable player of the Stanley Cup playoffs, the first defender given the honor since the Anaheim Ducks’ Scott Niedermayer in 2007.

Star winger Patrick Kane added a wide-open insurance goal late in the third period off a Brad Richards pass. Center Jonathan Toews, who captained all three of the Blackhawks’ recent title winners and who was named most valuable player of the 2010 playoffs, was the first to hoist the cup.

The Lightning offense struggled in the game, getting off just 24 shots on goal against Corey Crawford, the fewest the Blackhawks goalie had faced in a game since first-round games against the Nashville Predators. Even playing six-on-four for a minute as the game wound down, Tampa Bay got few good opportunities.

The Blackhawks won more than twice as many faceoffs as the Lightning, and had two penalty minutes to Tampa Bay’s six.

The Lightning and Blackhawks battle in the Tampa Bay crease during Game 5 on Saturday, with Chicago eventually winning and taking a three games to two lead in the Stanley Cup Final. Game 6 is Monday night in Chicago. John Raoux/AP hide caption

itoggle caption John Raoux/AP

Despite allowing the goals, Tampa Bay goalie Ben Bishop had a good game, with 30 saves on 32 shots.

Original Post:

Chicago has a lot to play for in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final Monday night. A victory will not only clinch the team’s third championship in the past six years; more important, it would be the Hawks’ first Cup win on home ice since 1938.

“Obviously there’s a lot of buzz, a lot of excitement,” said Chicago captain Jonathan Toews.

As of late Monday afternoon, the cheapest ticket available for the game on StubHub was listed at just over $1,000, and that was standing room. If you wanted to sit and watch the game, that was over $1,600.

For the Lightning, who played hard but suffered their second straight 2-1 loss to Chicago on Saturday, the challenge in trying to force a Game 7 looks huge.

Chicago’s United Center is already, arguably, the loudest arena in professional hockey. It will be decibels louder than ever tonight. And there is no question that this veteran Chicago team, which looks to be broken up this summer over salary cap issues, will want to win this one at home.

“It’s tough to put your mind off that and think about other things that don’t include the end result of winning here tonight. It’s going to be in your mind no matter what,” Chicago veteran forward Patrick Kane told reporters Monday.

But Tampa Bay captain Steve Stamkos says they’re ready to be spoilers.

“We’ll find a way,” he said, “There’s really no choice that we have.”

I guess you can call that cornered-animal optimism. And Stamkos is more cornered than most on his team. A power forward who is regularly among the league’s scoring leaders, Stamkos has scored exactly zero goals in this Final.

The result is that even his home-team paper, the Tampa Bay Times, is calling him out, with sports columnist Tom Jones writing:

“Has Stamkos been good enough in this series? And the answer is absolutely not. … This is the game Stamkos has to show up.”

But there are signs of hope for the Lightning. The team’s second leading scorer, Nikita Kucherov, looks likely to play Monday night. Part of the high-scoring “Triplets” line, Kucherov left Saturday’s game after colliding first with Chicago goalie Corey Crawford and then with the goalpost.

“You can’t keep Kuch out for long,” says line mate and the playoffs’ leading scorer, Tyler Johnson, who appears to be nursing injuries of his own.

And Lightning goalie Ben Bishop, who missed Game 4 with an undisclosed injury, also says that whatever it is ailing him is “getting better every day.”

Also consider the fact that this is the first Stanely Cup Final ever to be decided by one goal in the first five games. Neither team has had a two-goal lead. With games this close, missed chances and lucky bounces can make the difference. It could easily go either way.

Game 6 is at 8 p.m. ET.

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Stephen Curry came off a screen, dribbled behind his back and crossed over Matthew Dellavedova. He stepped back and swished a 3-pointer, then pounded his chest and pointed to the roof, seemingly controlling the sellout crowd of 19,596 on his fingertips.

One more win and the MVP will really have a moment to celebrate.

Curry made seven 3-pointers and scored 37 points, and the Warriors withstood another brilliant performance from LeBron James to outlast the Cleveland Cavaliers 104-91 on Sunday night for a 3-2 lead in the NBA Finals.

“It was a fun moment, but it will only mean something – and I’ll probably have a better for that question after we win that championship – but signature moments only come for players who are holding the trophy,” said Curry, who also had seven rebounds and four assists before being treated for dehydration.

Curry was spotted rubbing his head and leaning over in a hallway after the game. The Warriors said Curry was receiving fluids in the locker room, watching highlights and should be fine.

With a sellout crowd rocking and roaring in their golden-yellow shirts, Curry and his teammates took control of the game – and possibly the series – in the final minutes. Curry connected inside and out – sometimes way out – to help the Warriors pull away and get in a position they haven’t been in 40 years.

The Warriors will try to win their first title since 1975 on Tuesday night in Cleveland, which hasn’t won a major sports championship in 51 years. Game 7, if necessary, would be in Oakland on Friday night.

“I feel confident because I’m the best player in the world,” said James, who has carried Cleveland as much as he could.

The four-time MVP had 40 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists, slowing down the pace the way only he can. He made 15 of 34 shots in 44 minutes.

It was James’ second triple-double of this series. But the depleted Cavs, without injured starters Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, tired again late with a rotation that has gone just seven or eight deep.

“He has the ball in his hands a lot. Stick with the program. Don’t get discouraged if he makes shots. He’s going to,” Curry said of James. “Over the course of 48 minutes, we hope we wear him down to make it very tough on him.”

Draymond Green had 16 points and nine rebounds, Andre Iguodala added 14 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, and reserve Leandro Barbosa scored 13 points for the deep and talented Warriors.

Tristan Thompson tallied 19 points and 10 rebounds, and J.R. Smith scored all 14 of his points in the first half for Cleveland, which shot 39.5 percent and had no answer for Curry late.

“Not a lot you can do, honestly. He made some terrific shots,” Cavs coach David Blatt said.

Under the current 2-2-1-1-1 schedule format, the winner of Game 5 in a 2-2 series has won the title 12 of 14 times. But nobody can feel too comfortable after this one.

There were 20 lead changes and 10 ties in a game that featured nearly as many bruises as baskets – but few big men – and the league’s two biggest attractions trading thrilling scores.

James made a 34-footer with the shot clock about to expire midway through the fourth to cut the Warriors’ lead to 80-79. Curry answered with a step-back 3-pointer and Klay Thompson, who scored 12, followed with another.

Iguodala later hit a 3 and then grabbed a rebound, tossing in a left-handed put back while getting fouled by Tristan Thompson. Iguodala strutted back to midcourt, staring at the crowd – just about all of them on their feet through the fourth – before missing the free throw.

Curry added a cutting layup, then lost Dellavedova off the dribble and stepped back for a 3 that gave Golden State a 96-86 lead with 2:44 left.

“It was an incredible play and I enjoyed watching it from my front-row seat,” Green said.

James hit a 3-pointer, and the Cavs began fouling Iguodala – a sub-par free throw shooter. But Curry never let the game get out of his hands, connecting on another 3-pointer with 1:12 remaining, sending fans into a frenzy and teammates running to give him hugs and high-fives.

“We didn’t let the moment slip,” Curry said.

James said the Cavs are content with the way they defended Curry.

“Was any of them not contested?” James said. “Falling, step-backs off the dribble. I’m OK with that. We’re OK with that. You tip your hat to the best shooter in the league.”

Kerr stuck with the small-ball lineup he used to help the Warriors win Game 4, starting swingman Iguodala over center Andrew Bogut. Blatt replaced 7-footer Timofey Mozgov with the streaky shooting Smith – sliding James to center – after Cleveland fell behind 8-2 in the opening minutes.

“I thought from the very beginning when they went small, had their shooters out there, I thought this is Steph’s night,” Kerr said. “This is going to be a big one for him because he has all that room. He took over the game down the stretch and was fantastic.”

Both teams lacked size. Neither lacked fight.

Smith made four of his first seven 3-pointers before going cold, but landed his biggest shot when he extended his right forearm and shoulder to plow through Green’s screen, knocking the Warriors forward to the ground. Officials called a flagrant 1 foul on Smith after a review.

Dellavedova dragged Green down going for a rebound in the second quarter, and the officials assessed double fouls after the players got tangled up on the floor. James Jones also grabbed Iguodala with two arms from behind on a layup attempt, which the Warriors argued should’ve been a flagrant foul.

The physical first half ended with Harrison Barnes putting back Curry’s miss for a dunk over James to start a three-point play that put the Warriors up 51-50. James scored or assisted on 16 of Cleveland’s 17 field goals in the half.

“We didn’t turn it over, we were patient,” Klay Thompson said. “And two words: Stephen Curry.”

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