There you have it: Kyrie Irving’s first game-winner, and it was a thing of beauty. Irving took a screen at the top of the key from Anderson Varejao as the clock ticked down, slid around Avery Bradley into a 360, finishing off balance with his left hand in a beautiful swish over a swatting Brandon Bass. The Cavaliers needed one more defensive stop, but they got it and held on for a 88-87 victory in Boston. Irving led the team in scoring 23 points and 6 assists, but Varejao fought for key second chance possessions in the final minute, and Andy finished with 18 points and 9 rebounds. Ray Allen led the Celtics with 22, but the Celtics came up short as they blew a 11-point lead with 4 minutes remaining. The Cavaliers improve to 8-11 and face these same Celtics on Tuesday night in The Q.
Cleveland
| Starters |
Pos |
Min |
FG |
3Pt |
FT |
+/- |
Off |
Reb |
Ast |
TO |
Stl |
BS |
BA |
PF |
Pts |
| K. Irving |
G |
33:29 |
10-14 |
1-2 |
2-3 |
+8 |
1 |
4 |
6 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
23 |
| A. Parker |
G |
14:00 |
0-1 |
0-0 |
0-0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| A. Varejao |
C |
31:05 |
8-12 |
0-0 |
2-2 |
+3 |
3 |
9 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
18 |
| O. Casspi |
F |
32:30 |
3-9 |
1-4 |
0-0 |
-1 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
7 |
| A. Jamison |
F |
30:47 |
3-13 |
1-4 |
3-3 |
+6 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
10 |
| Bench |
Min |
FG |
3Pt |
FT |
+/- |
Off |
Reb |
Ast |
TO |
Stl |
BS |
BA |
PF |
Pts |
| Totals |
34-79 |
3-13 |
17-20 |
|
11 |
37 |
12 |
13 |
11 |
4 |
3 |
17 |
88 |
| Percentages |
.430 |
.231 |
.850 |
|
Team Rebounds: 8 |
| A. Gee |
29:24 |
3-7 |
0-1 |
8-9 |
-6 |
1 |
6 |
0 |
2 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
14 |
| R. Sessions |
22:48 |
3-10 |
0-2 |
1-1 |
-7 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
7 |
| T. Thompson |
17:02 |
1-6 |
0-0 |
1-2 |
-5 |
3 |
4 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
| S. Samuels |
16:55 |
1-4 |
0-0 |
0-0 |
-2 |
1 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
| M. Thompson |
12:00 |
2-3 |
0-0 |
0-0 |
+9 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
| S. Erden |
DNP – Coach’s Decision |
| C. Eyenga |
DNP – Coach’s Decision |
| D. Gibson |
DNP – Inactive |
| L. Harangody |
DNP – Inactive |
| R. Hollins |
DNP – Coach’s Decision |
Boston
| Starters |
Pos |
Min |
FG |
3Pt |
FT |
+/- |
Off |
Reb |
Ast |
TO |
Stl |
BS |
BA |
PF |
Pts |
| R. Allen |
G |
35:38 |
9-14 |
4-6 |
0-0 |
+2 |
0 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
22 |
| A. Bradley |
G |
27:57 |
2-5 |
0-0 |
2-2 |
-4 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
| K. Garnett |
C |
30:06 |
5-10 |
0-0 |
4-4 |
-3 |
2 |
7 |
3 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
14 |
| B. Bass |
F |
38:01 |
5-11 |
0-0 |
3-4 |
-6 |
0 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
4 |
13 |
| P. Pierce |
F |
34:43 |
8-12 |
1-1 |
1-2 |
-1 |
0 |
6 |
5 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
18 |
| Bench |
Min |
FG |
3Pt |
FT |
+/- |
Off |
Reb |
Ast |
TO |
Stl |
BS |
BA |
PF |
Pts |
| Totals |
36-69 |
5-11 |
10-14 |
|
5 |
33 |
21 |
16 |
6 |
3 |
4 |
16 |
87 |
| Percentages |
.522 |
.455 |
.714 |
|
Team Rebounds: 7 |
| C. Wilcox |
22:36 |
2-3 |
0-0 |
0-2 |
+15 |
1 |
6 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
4 |
| E. Moore |
20:01 |
2-5 |
0-0 |
0-0 |
+3 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
4 |
| M. Pietrus |
15:15 |
1-5 |
0-3 |
0-0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
| S. Pavlovic |
8:18 |
2-3 |
0-1 |
0-0 |
-1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
| G. Stiemsma |
4:38 |
0-1 |
0-0 |
0-0 |
-8 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| M. Daniels |
2:48 |
0-0 |
0-0 |
0-0 |
-2 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
| K. Dooling |
DNP – Inactive |
| J. Johnson |
DNP – Coach’s Decision |
| J. O’Neal |
DNP – Sore Left Knee |
| R. Rondo |
DNP – Inactive |
Game Info
- Technical Fouls:
- None
- Arena:
- TD Garden, Boston, MA
- Attendance:
- 18,624
- Officials:
- Marc Davis, Scott Wall, Eric Lewis
- Duration:
- 2:09
7 Comments
Did he just tie #6 for game winning regular season buzzer beaters?
Irving totally traveled, but I’ll take it
So did Pierce…and most every other NBA star once a night.
I love the fact that refs have been giving Kyrie that same call this early in his career.
I’ll gladly take it as well!
The cavs actually had a few calls go their way late, but solid win and good ‘winning’ experience for Irving
Turned on the game last night in the 4th quarter….man was I glad I did. Andy and Kyrie didn’t disappoint!
I’m happy that I feel good about this team again.
Not to sound like a homer, but that actually wasn’t a travel. I watched the slo-mo a few times and this is what happened: Kyrie drives right, turns around his left shoulder and drops one last dribble while pivoting on his left foot. He then takes two steps to finish at the rim, but the key is that he dropped his last dribble while he was on his pivot foot, which established his ability to take two steps before shooting. As much of a homer as Tommy Heinsohn is (and if you listened to the Celtics’ broadcast he makes nothing but homer comments the entire time and is constantly being quietly corrected by his partner), even Tommy had no complaints about the basket. Beautiful move by Irving!