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Raptors-Cleveland Cavaliers: Monday game preview

“There’s going to be some nights where I didn’t have my legs or my jump shot and I started questioning it. But for me now it’s just continuing, continuing, continuing to progress and get better”.

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When J.R. Smith and Kyrie Irving get hot, the Cavaliers are downright scary. “If you don’t bring your “A” game against them, you’re going to be embarrassed”. On Dec. 11, Cleveland led by as many as 40 in a 111-76 rout. While James’ health has never been a major issue in the National Basketball Association team, the other members of the roster poised concerns on that department earlier this season and in the past.

Smith’s eight 3s were a season high, and the Cavaliers hit 17 of 33 for the game.

Lowry has posted consecutive double-doubles, registering 22 points and 10 assists Sunday. “It’s the reality of how many guys you can play and what the situation is on the floor”. Deep Jumpers, spinning layups, fall away jumpers, floaters in the lane.

Adding to the remarkable nature of Irving’s night was the fact that it came in just 29 minutes of action.

Cousins shot 11 of 27 from the field to go along with 19 rebounds.

Irving’s explosion last night allowed LeBron to hang out on the bench all of the 4th quarter. Almost from the opening tip, the Magic found themselves down and down big.

“We can’t give up 34 points in the fourth quarter, ” Casey said. Not only did he only play 31 minutes but those minutes were far less strenuous because of Irving.

When Irving is playing well, opponents won’t know what to do with LeBron. They shot over 51 percent from three. Scary place to be. “It just looked like the old Kyrie”. In addition to Melbourne-born All-Star Kyrie Irving, Maryborough native Matthew Dellavedova has made a deep impression among many with his relentless, tough-minded style of play. Somebody goes down, next guy has got to be ready to step in and take up the slack. Last night that was solid defense that included 3 blocks.

From there, Irving – playing in his sixth game after spending six months rehabilitating after surgery to fix a fractured left kneecap – took over.

“We only have one back-to-back, ” said James, who had 24 points and nine turnovers in what remains the Cavaliers’ lone home loss. As long as Cleveland can stay healthy, there is no reason why they shouldn’t be hoisting the Larry O’Brien trophy in June. His opposing centre Tristan Thompson was plus-12 with 14 points on 4-of-6 shooting and 11 rebounds.

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The Jazz had a chance to tie it with six seconds remaining, but shooting guard Rodney Hood missed the third of three free throws after being fouled by Harden behind the 3-point arc. DeRozan also added two rebounds, four assists and a steal in 35 minutes. For all his production, Delly is still a limited player. He also will be left open from deep when sharing the floor with Irving. With my dual-citizenship of fandom with the Dallas Mavericks, I had to suffer through years of Erick “Brickhands” Dampier and just did not have much optimism for an undersized centre who offered nothing on the offensive end.

Cleveland's Kyrie Irving drives past Toronto's Jonas Valanciunas on the way to a season-high in points Monday night in Cleveland