It wasn’t long ago when John Wall made the statement “it’s a joke” that Kyrie Irving should be selected as an All-Star because of the lack games played this season. “It was so fun to be out there”. He shot 10 of 16, grabbed six rebounds and only committed one turnover in 29 minutes.
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While LeBron James had 34 points, Irving scored 10 points in a row in the fourth quarter and showed no ill effects from the injury that ended his 2015 playoffs and postponed his season debut until mid-December.
When Wall poked the ball away from Irving and sprung Dudley for an uncontested dunk midway through the first, Cleveland coach David Blatt called timeout with his team trailing 13-8. “He’s a talented young man who is just trying to get experience, but it’s been tough to get him time because of the minutes that are available”, Raptors coach Dwane Casey said…. “It just looked like the old Kyrie”.
In Portland, L.A. Clippers star point guard Chris Paul turned on an electric display with a double-double that featured 21 points and a huge 19 assists, a season high for Paul as he led the Clippers to a 109-98 victory over the Trailblazers.
James found his long-range stroke early in the second half, connecting on 3-pointers on four of five possessions.
Thunder 112, Grizzlies 94: Kevin Durant had 26 points and a season-high 17 rebounds after missing the previous game with a sprained right big toe, and Oklahoma beat Memphis. “If you don’t bring your “A” game against them, you’re going to be embarrassed”. “They’re a real good team and they’re the Eastern Conference champs for a reason, so they’re the team to beat”.
Australia’s Matthew Dellavedova had a quiet night for the Cavs, scoring just three points.
Reggie Jackson, who played his college ball at nearby Boston College, scored nine of his game-high 24 points in the final 6:01 as the Pistons won for the third time in four games. His third dazzling layup in that stretch gave Cleveland a 105-95 lead with 7:35 remaining.
DeMar DeRozan scored 19 points for Toronto, which played without forward DeMarre Carroll (sore right knee).
The Cleveland Cavaliers will be looking for some revenge when they travel to face to the Washington Wizards on Thursday morning (AEDT). The trip begins in Washington before moving to Minnesota, then back to the East Coast and Philadelphia before the Texas triangle.
“We only have one back-to-back”, James said. “We’ll see what happens”.
The Washington Wizards look for a statement win after winning five of their last eight games. Lowry scored 27 points November 25 when the Raptors defeated the Cavaliers 103-99 in Toronto…. The Spurs’ 123 points tied their most in a game this season, equaling Monday’s total in a win over Milwaukee by the same score. In the last four seasons, Curry has averaged at least 22.9 points, a benchmark Irving hasn’t reached in any of his first four years.
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The New York Knicks continued their good form with a 98-90 win over the Miami Heat – ending a run of eight successive losses against the Heat.
