NEW YORK – The shoes, the shoes, it’s gotta be the shoes.
One day after unveiling his new Nike signature shoes “KYRIE 1”, Kyrie Irving scored 37 points in helping the (10-7) Cleveland Cavaliers win their season-high fifth straight over the (4-16) New York Knicks, 90-87.
GOOD – In a virtual homecoming, Kyrie Irving, a native of West Orange, New Jersey scored 37 points—23 in the first half—on 11-of-12 shooting, including the game-winning layup—a high left-handed finger roll of the glass—with under ten seconds left to give the Cavaliers a three-point lead.
After a sluggish start, LeBron James came on late to score 19 points—seven in the fourth—five rebounds and 12 assists and Kevin Love finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Second-year shooting guard Tim Hardaway Jr. came off the bench to lead all Knicks in scoring with 20 points including 4-of-8 from three-point range, Amar’e Stoudamire added 18 points and Quincy Acy finished with 15 points.
BAD – A sloppy, lackluster and at times boring game at the Garden, both teams combined for 36 turnovers. The lack of bench production continues to be an issue for Cleveland as they were outscored 42-10 and out-rebounded by New York 47-33.
UGLY – Knicks small forward Carmelo Anthony had an abysmal night in finishing with nine points and 10 rebounds on 4-of-19 shooting in 30 minutes.
NEXT – Cleveland travels north to face the East-leading Toronto Raptors (15-4) Friday, New York travels south to face the Charlotte Hornets (4-15)
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