Not afraid of the stage: Kyrie’s 30 points leads Cavs to game 1 win

blacksportsonline.com

All season media critics spoke about how the Cleveland Cavaliers lacked playoff experience, but their playoff debut seemed pretty convincing that they maybe ready after all. In 23 year-old Kyrie Irving’s playoff debut, the point guard torched the Boston Celtics for a game high 30 points as well as netting his first 5 3-point attempts, the Cavaliers won the game 113-100. Cavs All-Star power forward Kevin Love, who also made his playoff debut, had a well-played game with 19 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 assist despite only shooting 5-14 from the floor.  Boston lead 31-27 and had a eight point lead during the second quarter but the Cleveland Big 3 responded quickly and grabbed a commanding double digit lead throughout the second half.  The Cavaliers’ LeBron James, who had 20 points, 7 assists, and 6 rebounds should definitely believe that he’s not alone with this squad as the other two stars and role players are coming along, especially the young prodigy in Kyrie Irving. “It started with Ky. He’s our floor general,”  James said. “He set the tone early on with his ability to make shots, his ability to get in the lane. Obviously, he can shoot the ball extremely well. He’s able to mix it up. I thought he was phenomenal.”

Irving showed he wasn’t afraid of the spotlight that is the NBA Playoffs, as he shouldn’t be.  As the the 2011 first overall pick, an already three-time All-Star, 2014 All Star Game MVP, and 2014 FIBA World Cup MVP, Irving was born for this.  Nobody questioned Irving’s talent but the knock on him was that he didn’t know how to win or make his teammates better, if he keeps this level of play the Cavaliers will be making serious noise this playoffs, and it wont just be LeBron James.

The 2nd seeded Cleveland Cavaliers (53-39) lead the series against the 7th seeded Boston Celtics (40-42) 1-0. Celtics’ Isaiah Thomas had 22 points, 10 assists, and 5 rebounds in the Game 1 loss.