Irving scored 21 of his season-best 32 points in the fourth quarter of the Cavaliers’ fifth straight victory, 121-115 at the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night. He’s now moved beyond mere progress and into jaw-dropping territory for the surging Cavaliers (24-9).
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James helped stake the Cavaliers to an 18-point lead by hitting all four of his three-pointers less than four minutes into the third quarter.
The Wizards answered with their own surge, knotting the score at 95-95 with 10:53 to play. He had a quiet night against Cleveland in the season’s first matchup, but tallied at least 20 points in three straight games before struggling on Sunday against Miami.
Irving scored seven of Cleveland’s first nine points in the period as the Cavs took a 99-87 lead with 8:46 left. Going up against fellow All-Star, Kyle Lowry, Kyrie led the Cavaliers with a season-high 25 points on 10-for-16 shooting, adding eight assists and six boards.
“For me, I just see it as progression”, Irving said. “To be out months and still be able to come out there and shake and bake like he’s doing is remarkable”. “So I don’t think it should even be a question”.
Chris Paul scored 21 points and dished out 19 assists as the Los Angeles Clippers defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 109-98.
Washington has lost back-to-back games and four of their last five games. The main storylines feature the old Wizards’ nemesis, LeBron James, returning to the Verizon Center along with the marquee matchup of All-Star point guards, John Wall and Kyrie Irving. The Cleveland Cavaliers are shooting 35.7 percent from beyond the arc and 72.4 percent from the free throw line.
If there’s one active player who’s tormented the Wizards over the past decade-plus, it’s LeBron James – who led the Cavs past Washington in three straight First Round playoff matchups during his first go-round with the Wine and Gold. At the 10:04 mark in the third quarter the Cavaliers were up 73-55, but Washington would finish the quarter outscoring Cleveland 34-to-22. Neal finished with 13 points while Nene added seven points and four rebounds. He sank eight of 11 shot attempts in the quarter. He also said, “Leah is like a little sister of mine, or maybe she probably wishes I was like a dad to her, too”. A 3-ball by J.R. Smith (one of his eight) pushed Cleveland ahead, and the Raptors, though we didn’t know it yet, were done. The All-Star guard was eventually named Eastern Conference Player of the Month. Leah’s favorite basketball player is LeBron James, whose autographed jersey (signed, “To Leah You’re my HERO”, by the way) her father got her for Christmas a couple weeks back. “You know, like I said, it’s always great seeing her”. All five starters reached double figures, as Otto Porter, Marcin Gortat and Jared Dudley had 12 points apiece. “We just take it one game at a time”. “They are getting back, which makes them even better”.
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Dallas coach Rick Carlisle sat out Dirk Nowitzki, Deron Williams, Zaza Pachulia and Wesley Matthews after each played 40-plus minutes in a double-overtime victory over Sacramento on Tuesday night.
