NBA: Scintillating Irving lifts Cavs over Spurs
Cleveland Cavaliers’ Kyrie Irving (2) and LeBron James (23) celebrate during overtime of an NBA basketball game against the San Antonio Spurs, Thursday, March 12, 2015, in San Antonio. Cleveland won 128-125. AP
SAN ANTONIO — Kyrie Irving scored a career-high 57 points, including 11 in overtime, as the Cleveland Cavaliers rallied for a thrilling 128-125 NBA victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday.
Irving had the most points in the NBA this season, bettering his own 55-points in a win over Portland in January.
Cleveland’s 22-year-old Australian-born star scored nine points in the final minute of regulation, including a three-pointer to knot the score at 110-110 and send the game into overtime.
He added 11 points in the extra period as the Cavaliers snapped a 10-game losing streak against the reigning NBA champion Spurs.
“All the credit goes to my team-mates,” Irving said. “They were doing a great job of screening me, getting me open.
“Our offensive execution down the stretch was huge. We got stops when we needed it.
“We were all tired going into that overtime, but there’s no excuses,” added Irving, who connected on all seven of his three-point attempts, was 20-of-32 from the field and made 10 of 10 free throws.
“Everybody’s gearing up for playoff basketball.”
Four-time NBA Most Valuable Player LeBron James added 31 points, five rebounds and seven assists for Cleveland, and gave his young team-mate an emotional congratulatory embrace when the game concluded.
The victory snapped a six-game Spurs winning streak, while the Cavs improved to 2-0 on their current four-game road trip.
San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard was looking like the hero of the game, effectively containing James early while putting up 22 points, nine rebounds and six assists.
But Leonard missed two free throws with 3.4 seconds remaining in regulation, opening the door for Irving’s game-tying three-pointer.
An inbound pass from James found Irving at the top of the key and he went right, rose and drained the basket to force overtime.
It was the first time since the second quarter that the Cavs had leveled the contest.
With the win, Cleveland improved to 42-25 and remained in first place in the Central Division and second in the Eastern Conference.
The Spurs endured their first March defeat since 2013. They had won 20 games in the month of March prior to Thursday’s game.
The defending NBA champs are sixth in the Western Conference.
Point guard Tony Parker led the Spurs with 31 points and six assists. Leonard finished with 24 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Danny Green also chipped in 24 points, while Tim Duncan contributed 18 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists.
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