2011 overall number one draft pick Kyrie Irving made up for missing 11
games with a fractured finger, by leading his Cleveland Cavaliers to a
huge 100-94 upset of the Los Angeles Lakers, Tuesday (Wednesday, PHL
time) at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.
The Lakers slumped to a third-straight loss, and are now 9-13, while Cleveland improved to 5-17, snapping a five-game skid.
LA drew first blood on a Metta World Peace lay-up, but that turned out to be their biggest lead of the game, as the home team went on a 24-8 run to close out the second period, turning a one-point, 31-30 Lakers lead, into a 54-39 Cavaliers advantage entering halftime.
Early in the third, a split at the line by Anderson Varejao gave Cleveland a game-high 16-point advantage, 57-41, with 9:20 left in the period. LA began getting back into the game though, as seven unanswered made it a three-point affair, 65-62, after a Kobe Bryant jumper, but Kyrie Irving had the last say, canning a triple to have it at 68-62 with a quarter left.
The two sides went back-and-forth in the pivotal final 12 minutes of the game. With less than a minute to play, a Varejao jumper, off an Irving assist, made it a three-possession game, 94-87, but Dwight Howard surprisingly made two free throws on the other end.
Antawn Jamison then came up with a steal, but Bryant missed a huge three-pointer that could have closed the gap. Following a Varejao free throw, "The Black Mamba" redeemed himself, this time connecting from downtown, 95-92, 28.9 seconds left. He would nail one more attempt from the field, a two-point lay-up that made it a four-point game, 98-94 with 8.7 ticks remaining, but after the Lakers put CJ Miles at the line, the swingman calmly drained two game-clinching freebies, to arrive at the final score.
Irving and Miles each had 28 points in the win, with Irving adding 11 assists. Anderson Varejao held his ground against Howard, chipping in 20 points, nine rebounds and five assists.
Kobe Bryant exploded for 42 points on 16-of-28 shooting, while Dwight Howard had 19 points and 20 rebounds, but it just wasn't enough to score a win.
Neither team's benches were a factor, with Cleveland getting just six, all from rookie Tyler Zeller, while only Jodie Meeks and Antawn Jamison had an impact for LA, combining for 16.
Cleveland was better from downtown, making 11-of-27, while the Lakers were 7-of-27. - AMD, GMA News
The Lakers slumped to a third-straight loss, and are now 9-13, while Cleveland improved to 5-17, snapping a five-game skid.
LA drew first blood on a Metta World Peace lay-up, but that turned out to be their biggest lead of the game, as the home team went on a 24-8 run to close out the second period, turning a one-point, 31-30 Lakers lead, into a 54-39 Cavaliers advantage entering halftime.
Early in the third, a split at the line by Anderson Varejao gave Cleveland a game-high 16-point advantage, 57-41, with 9:20 left in the period. LA began getting back into the game though, as seven unanswered made it a three-point affair, 65-62, after a Kobe Bryant jumper, but Kyrie Irving had the last say, canning a triple to have it at 68-62 with a quarter left.
The two sides went back-and-forth in the pivotal final 12 minutes of the game. With less than a minute to play, a Varejao jumper, off an Irving assist, made it a three-possession game, 94-87, but Dwight Howard surprisingly made two free throws on the other end.
Antawn Jamison then came up with a steal, but Bryant missed a huge three-pointer that could have closed the gap. Following a Varejao free throw, "The Black Mamba" redeemed himself, this time connecting from downtown, 95-92, 28.9 seconds left. He would nail one more attempt from the field, a two-point lay-up that made it a four-point game, 98-94 with 8.7 ticks remaining, but after the Lakers put CJ Miles at the line, the swingman calmly drained two game-clinching freebies, to arrive at the final score.
Irving and Miles each had 28 points in the win, with Irving adding 11 assists. Anderson Varejao held his ground against Howard, chipping in 20 points, nine rebounds and five assists.
Kobe Bryant exploded for 42 points on 16-of-28 shooting, while Dwight Howard had 19 points and 20 rebounds, but it just wasn't enough to score a win.
Neither team's benches were a factor, with Cleveland getting just six, all from rookie Tyler Zeller, while only Jodie Meeks and Antawn Jamison had an impact for LA, combining for 16.
Cleveland was better from downtown, making 11-of-27, while the Lakers were 7-of-27. - AMD, GMA News
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