Kyrie Irving is still finding his groove since returning to the court less than a month ago, but his late dagger to sink the Dallas Mavericks is exactly what the Cleveland Cavaliers expect of their star point guard.
Irving, the No. 1 pick in the 2011 draft, scored 22 points, but saved his most important basket for last when he nailed a 27-foot 3-pointer with 13 seconds left to seal a 110-107 overtime victory for Cleveland.
LeBron James, who finished with a game-high 27 points, found himself open on the play from midrange after his defender fell, but decided to dish to Irving standing well beyond the arc. The trust between the dynamic duo paid off.
WATCH: Cavs' Kyrie Irving hits dagger 3 against Mavs in overtime, via @gifdsports
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— CBS Sports NBA (@CBSSportsNBA) January 13, 2016“It’s just the confidence I have in him and he has the confidence in his self,” James said. “He was waiting for the play to develop,” added Irving. “We talked about it afterward. I was just looking at him the whole time. I just had my hands ready the whole time. And just trying to space out and give him enough room to make that decision, and he made the right play.”
Irving’s performance wasn’t even his best – he scored 32 points last week against Washington – but he did play 39 minutes and dish nine assists, both season-highs.
Although the 23-year-old is averaging a career-low 16.5 points on 41.5 per cent shooting from the field through his first 10 games since returning from a broken kneecap suffered in the NBA Finals last June, Cleveland have been reaping the benefits.
Since making his debut on December 20 against Philadelphia, the Cavaliers are 9-1 when Irving is in the line-up, scoring 106.0 points per game. With their third star finally on the court, Cleveland are hitting their peak and showing signs of their ceiling.
“We’re finally whole,” James said. “It took us a long time to get whole and it’s paying dividends to our team and obviously we’re not going to win every game, but we want to go out, we want to play our type of game – and that’s defend at a high level.
“That’s come out and move the ball, share the ball, and put guys in position to be successful, and when we do that we’re going to give ourselves a good chance to compete.”
The Cavaliers are at the tail end of a seven-game road trip, with their next contest a battle of the juggernauts when they meet the San Antonio Spurs (Friday: 05:00).
Something will have to give as the Spurs have reeled off nine straight victories are will put their flawless 22-0 mark at AT&T Center on the line. Cleveland will get another test two games later against the reigning champion and No. 1 team in the West, the Golden State Warriors.
