Basketball: Irving stars as Cavs beat Raptors

Tim Duncan scored a season-high 18 points and San Antonio had eight other players in double figures to match its best start in franchise history by winning its 21st straight home game to open the season.

“I knew she was going to be there tonight, and her and Zhuri, my baby girl, are my two favorite women in the world”. There isn’t much more than an All-Star, except perhaps… The former No. 1 overall selection by the Wizards scored only 14 points on a porous 6-of-21 shooting in 22-point loss to Miami on Sunday that saw Washington score only 75 totals points. And it was vintage Irving.

According to ESPN, this was James’ 90 30-point, 10-rebound game since he entered the league, which is tops in the National Basketball Association ahead of Dirk Nowitzki (81) and Kevin Durant (63). The minutes are increasing, the production is increasing and the rust is decreasing. “But that sure didn’t look like that tonight”.

Irving ranked second in All-Star voting among guards when the first batch of ballots was released Christmas morning, a bit of a surprise since he only returned to the court a few days prior.

Irving shot just 29 percent in his first three games back from a fractured kneecap, but he has shot 48 percent in his past three.

Even though I don’t think it will be easy, mainly because of the depth of the east this year, I expect the Cavs to return to the finals this year with the Spurs, Warriors or Thunder waiting on them. But there’s no denying that Irving possesses a special set of skills and certainly could potentially grow into an MVP-type player. I even heard one analyst say Irving may be the ball handler in the history of the game! “Obviously, I’m going to side with Nike no matter who it is”. That mental hurdle to get over.

Still, the King may have a point, especially when his teammate is at his best. “And that’s making plays and being decisive”. “I’ve got a daughter, and also, being a father, seeing what Devon was going through at the time, to be able to keep his strength and composure when his daughter was going through what she was going through, it just resonated”. LeBron James doubled up; finishing with 34 points and 10 rebounds in 40 minutes of action while J.R. Smith was smoking all night, hitting 5-of-10 from downtown to account for his 25 points.

The Wizards had the slim 26-24 lead after the first quarter but was outscored 38-24 in the crucial second quarter when the Cavaliers earned the 52-40 advantage at halftime.

The Raptors beat the Cavs at Toronto in late November when Cleveland was missing half of its rotation. They will host the Toronto Raptors on Friday before their road games against the Orlando Magic and Chicago Bulls. “But until we turn it on defensively, we’re kidding ourselves”. Not only does Irving make those acrobatic shots consistently, he makes them look routine – to the point where you expect him to make each and every one. “You know, like I said, it’s always great seeing her”. James obliged and after the two briefly chatted, James turned and walked toward Tristan Thompson.

“Signed by Houston for the postseason, that’s all blessings from the man above”, James said. Unusual to see coaches do it, however.