Wednesday’s game featured two of the giants in this generation – Kobe Bryant, in his career send-off at The Q and LeBron James, who’s days away from starting in his 12th straight All-Star Game. But it was an up-and-coming superstar who stole the show.
Kyrie Irving – who missed the season’s first 24 games – won’t be making the trip to the All-Star Game this Sunday in Toronto, but he’s looking every bit the part over the past two weeks. And he looked almost unstoppable in the final game before the Break.
Irving topped the 30-point plateau for the second straight game, lifting the Wine and Gold to their third straight win – holding off the Lakers, 120-111, on Wednesday night in Cleveland.
The Q was buzzing with anticipation as Kobe took the floor for the final time in his illustrious 20-year career. And the future Hall of Famer didn’t disappoint, overcoming a slow start to get a struggling Lakers squad back in the game in the fourth quarter after falling behind by 22 points.
In the Black Mamba’s North Coast farewell, he notched nine of his 17 points in the fourth period, going 5-for-16 from the floor, adding six boards, three assists and a steal. His four-point play with 5:35 left in regulation got the Lakers to within nine, 104-95. But the combination of Kyrie’s relentless attack and the combination of LeBron and J.R. Smith from long-range kept L.A. at bay.
On the night, Irving went 15-of-24 from the floor, including 3-of-6 from beyond the arc, to go with seven assists and a pair of steals.
LeBron, who battled Kobe to start the game and down the stretch in the fourth, doubled-up with 29 points and 11 assists – one fewer than the Lakers’ starters combined – adding seven boards and a steal.
Tristan Thompson had his best game in over a week, tallying his 14th double-double of the season with 15 points – going 6-of-6 from the floor – and 13 boards.
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