It came at the expense of the NBA’s worst team, the Philadelphia 76ers, whose season record stands at 1-28 following a 108-86 loss on Sunday.
Advertisement
After the slow start, Irving made five of his last seven shots and finished with 12 points, four assists and two steals in 17 minutes.
Kyrie Irving made his first appearance this season on Sunday after he fractured his left kneecap during the NBA Finals in June. Timofey Mosgov had 8 points and 8 rebounds while Richard Jefferson added 9 points on 3-of-5 shooting from behind the arc for the Cavaliers, who gave the starters minimal minutes in the easy victory. But Cleveland is more complete with the All-Star point guard healthy and back. He waved in appreciation and was soon cheered again as he dribbled the ball up the floor for the first time, a sight Cleveland fans have been waiting months to see.
The Cavs ran a set play for him on their first possession, but Irving missed the layup. James patted his teammate on the head as they walked toward the Cavs’ bench and said, “Welcome back”.
Just as there was no rush for Irving to return to game action, there’s no rush for Irving to return to the dynamic form he’s displayed over his first four seasons. If the Cavs are able to pull away early from Jahlil Okafor and company, you can certainly expect Blatt and the Cleveland coaching staff to pull Irving from the game in order to preserve him. They went into halftime up 55-38. This recovery includes sweating every single day with his trainers, starting at 6:30 a.m., for two and a half hours prior to team practice at 10:00 a.m.
Irving, 23, will be a welcome addition to a Cavaliers lineup that has rotated free agent acquisition Mo Williams and Matthew Dellavedova at the point.
Cavaliers: The crowd roared when Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel’s touchdown pass against Seattle was shown on the arena scoreboard.
Advertisement
Will Barton scored a career-high 32 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Denver, which lost Darrell Arthur (right knee soreness) and Danilo Gallinari (left ankle sprain) while dropping its second straight.
