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NBA Gamecast - Portland vs Cleveland
CLEVELAND -- Kyrie Irving put on a spectacular show and LeBron James watched it from a front-row seat.
Irving scored a career-high 55 points, breaking the arena record as James sat out with an injury to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to their eighth straight win, 99-94 over the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night.
With James sidelined because of a sprained right wrist, Irving delivered a dazzling, tour-de-force performance.
One day before the NBA names its All-Star reserves, Irving put an exclamation point on his resume.
Irving, who scored 38 on Tuesday in a win at Detroit, made a team record 11 3-pointers and finished 10 of 10 from the free-throw line. He scored 24 of Cleveland's final 28 points and 16 of the Cavs' 20 in the fourth quarter. But it was his long jumper with 6.4 seconds left that shook Quicken Loans Arena.
Irving buried a 3-pointer to break a 94-94 tie, then grabbed a rebound off a missed 3-pointer by Portland's Damian Lillard. And as many in the crowd chanted "M-V-P" and James danced near the bench, Irving dropped two free throws with 2.1 seconds remaining to seal the win.
"It was a total team effort," Irving said, trying to spread praise to his teammates.
James knew better. The four-time MVP politely declined to speak to reporters, saying the focus should be only on Irving.
"This is his night," James said.
No doubt, though James later weighed in via Twitter.
Irving, who missed his first seven shots, broke the previous arena scoring mark set by Allen Iverson on Jan. 6, 2001. His point total was also the highest in the league this season, bettering the 52 scored by Golden State's Klay Thompson and Minnesota's Mo Williams.
Irving was at his best at the end of quarters, scoring Cleveland's last 11 points in the first, the final eight in the second and third and 10 of the Cavs' last 12.
His final shot was magnificent in so many ways. Dribbling the ball on the right side as the clock ticked down, Irving froze 6-foot-8 forward Nicolas Batum with a move toward the basket before stopping and sinking his 11th 3-pointer. After the Trail Blazers called timeout, and as 20,562 fans screamed, James ran onto the floor and greeted his teammate with a chest bump.
Batum felt he had done all he could to stop Irving.
"He's so quick you don't want to get too close," Batum said. "You have to control the drive. I tried to contest the shot. I was on him, but he made a big shot."
James sprained his wrist Tuesday, when he fell hard after trying to block a shot against Detroit. James reached out with both arms to brace his fall and said afterward he was scared after breaking his left wrist on a similar play while in high school. The team said an MRI revealed the sprain and that James is doubtful for Friday's game against Sacramento.
Until he's ready, Irving can carry the load.
Irving scored a career-high 55 points, breaking the arena record as James sat out with an injury to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to their eighth straight win, 99-94 over the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night.
With James sidelined because of a sprained right wrist, Irving delivered a dazzling, tour-de-force performance.
One day before the NBA names its All-Star reserves, Irving put an exclamation point on his resume.
Irving, who scored 38 on Tuesday in a win at Detroit, made a team record 11 3-pointers and finished 10 of 10 from the free-throw line. He scored 24 of Cleveland's final 28 points and 16 of the Cavs' 20 in the fourth quarter. But it was his long jumper with 6.4 seconds left that shook Quicken Loans Arena.
Irving buried a 3-pointer to break a 94-94 tie, then grabbed a rebound off a missed 3-pointer by Portland's Damian Lillard. And as many in the crowd chanted "M-V-P" and James danced near the bench, Irving dropped two free throws with 2.1 seconds remaining to seal the win.
"It was a total team effort," Irving said, trying to spread praise to his teammates.
James knew better. The four-time MVP politely declined to speak to reporters, saying the focus should be only on Irving.
"This is his night," James said.
No doubt, though James later weighed in via Twitter.
Irving, who missed his first seven shots, broke the previous arena scoring mark set by Allen Iverson on Jan. 6, 2001. His point total was also the highest in the league this season, bettering the 52 scored by Golden State's Klay Thompson and Minnesota's Mo Williams.
Irving was at his best at the end of quarters, scoring Cleveland's last 11 points in the first, the final eight in the second and third and 10 of the Cavs' last 12.
His final shot was magnificent in so many ways. Dribbling the ball on the right side as the clock ticked down, Irving froze 6-foot-8 forward Nicolas Batum with a move toward the basket before stopping and sinking his 11th 3-pointer. After the Trail Blazers called timeout, and as 20,562 fans screamed, James ran onto the floor and greeted his teammate with a chest bump.
Batum felt he had done all he could to stop Irving.
"He's so quick you don't want to get too close," Batum said. "You have to control the drive. I tried to contest the shot. I was on him, but he made a big shot."
James sprained his wrist Tuesday, when he fell hard after trying to block a shot against Detroit. James reached out with both arms to brace his fall and said afterward he was scared after breaking his left wrist on a similar play while in high school. The team said an MRI revealed the sprain and that James is doubtful for Friday's game against Sacramento.
Until he's ready, Irving can carry the load.