Former No. 3 overall pick Trent Richardson released by Colts
March 12, 2015Video: Watch Kyrie Irving drop 57 points on the Spurs
March 13, 2015Cleveland Cavaliers 128
San Antonio Spurs 125 (OT)
Box Score
Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale.
Holy crap. What a game.
Some games are intimidating to write about, and this is one of them. I can barely breathe, let alone think. Putting together complete sentences that actually add something to the experience of watching this game seems like a long shot. But this game, perhaps more than any other played this season, deserves discussion. It needs to be written about and talked about and thought about, if only for historical purposes.
We need to tell stories about this game for the same reason that Egyptians carved hieroglyphics into pyramids. We need to preserve this game’s memory. It’s risky to say so in the immediate afterglow, but I think this is the best Cavaliers game I have ever seen in my whole dumb life. LeBron’s Game 5 in Detroit may have been on par with Kyrie Irving Thursday in terms of individual brilliance, but this game was more than one virtuoso performance. Both teams were incredible. It was to entertaining basketball what Bud Light is to mediocre domestic beer, a standard bearer against which all others must be measured.
It was exciting, exhilarating, and perhaps more than anything else, exhausting.
With just over three minutes to go in regulation, LeBron James drove and missed a layup. Kawhi Leonard came away with the ball and steamed ahead in transition. He drove into three Cavaliers and kicked out to Danny Green, who canned a three-ball from the left corner. The Cavs called timeout trailing by 10 with 3:04 to go. I thought they were done.
With 1:24 to go, Kawhi Leonard hit a free throw to put the Spurs ahead 108-101. He missed the second, but Tim Duncan gathered the offensive rebound. He was in trouble on the baseline, but he called timeout. The Spurs would get it back with a fresh shot clock. The Spurs had scored on four of their last five possessions. The Cavs were down by seven. I thought they were done.
Kyrie scored an old-fashioned three-point play with 56 seconds left to cut the lead to four. Tony Parker answered with a jumper to extend it to six. Kyrie hit a three off a feed from LeBron to make it 110-107. Parker missed a jumper but Kawhi Leonard beat Irving, who tried to box out the larger man after switching onto him, to the offensive rebound and was fouled with four seconds left. Made free throws would virtually guarantee victory. I thought they were done.
Leonard, however, missed the first, and then he missed the second. Despair became hope, and darkness light. The Cavs called timeout with 3.1 seconds to go. LeBron James inbounded from the forecourt sideline. He passed to Irving at the top of the key. Kyrie took a dribble and rose up for three with Leonard in his face.
Swish. Buzzer. Overtime.
Kyrie kept it going in the bonus period. After the Spurs jumped ahead, he hit a three to tie it at 113. Then he put the Cavs ahead with another three-point play. Danny Green fired back with a three to tie it, and then LeBron put the Cavs back on top with one of his own. Parker narrowed the margin with a layup; Irving extended it with a three. Parker kept the Spurs alive with a jumper. LeBron hit a three to put the Cavs up five. Danny Green’s next three rimmed out, the Cavs secured the rebound, and Kyrie added two free throws to hit his point total for the night. The clock struck zero.
Cavaliers 128, Spurs 125.
To play against the San Antonio Spurs is to resist waves crashing on a beach. At a glance, it looks like they hit you the same way every time. But if you’re out there in the water, you see and feel that each wave hits you a little differently. They come at slightly different speeds, in slightly different shapes, from slightly different angles. Just as you orient yourself to one, another knocks you off balance. And then another one after that, and another. You fight to regain control, but you can’t quite get there. The waves keep coming, and they don’t ever stop. They keep coming, and coming, and coming, until you’ve been worn down to the point of surrender.
The Spurs hit the Cavs with every wave they had Thursday night, and the Cavs stood up to them. There were no less than three Spurs plays that could have done the Cavs in. Green’s apparent dagger three to put them up 10? That’s a Spurs play. Duncan grabbing an offensive rebound off of a missed free throw and calling timeout? That’s a Spurs play. Leonard exploiting a mismatch to get a rebound with four freaking seconds left, with his team leading by three? That’s a Spurs play.
But, it must be said, the Spurs erred from the charity stripe, and only with that did the Cavs’ hope remain. Leonard missed both in the closing seconds of regulation. He split a pair a minute before that. Diaw and Parker each missed one in overtime. Great games have a way of putting a magnifying lens over the free throw line. The Spurs’ errors loomed all the larger for it.
TNT is replaying the game as I write, and I’m tempted to shutter the laptop and watch the whole thing again. But first, a look at the numbers.
57 – Kyrie Irving scored a Cavalier-record 57 points, breaking LeBron James’ mark of 56. Irving’s 57 are the most points scored in an NBA game this season, and the most ever scored against the Spurs in San Antonio.1 He is the first player to score 50-plus twice in a season since Kevin Durant last year. He is the first player to hit a double nickel twice in a season since Kobe Bryant in 2006-07.
Kobe Bryant. Kevin Durant. These are Kyrie Irving’s peers.
He was just nuts. Fifty-seven points. I could write a million words about him and it still wouldn’t be enough. He shot 20-of-32 from the field. He hit all seven of his three-pointers. He sank all 10 of his free throws. He scored 14 straight in the second quarter. He scored 27 in the fourth quarter and overtime. He spun in his Kyridiculous (patent pending) layups. He hit shots to keep the Cavs in it, and he hit shots to knock the Spurs out of it. He played 47 minutes. He had four steals. He did it all.
You know how Gregg Popovich can barely be bothered to say anything to reporters during those between-quarters interviews? You know how he’s a semi-friendly curmudgeon who’s more likely to take the piss out of you than pat you on the back or brown his nose? Here’s what he had to say about Kyrie after the game:
Pop on Kyrie: "Kyrie Irving was unstoppable. I don't know how to guard that. He did a hell of a job…He really went to a new level tonight"
— Jason Lloyd (@ByJasonLloyd) March 13, 2015
31, 7, and 5 – LeBron’s points, rebounds, and assists, which sort of came quietly and which sort of didn’t. LeBron was aggressive early and threw down a couple big dunks, but Kawhi Leonard defended him as well as can be done all night (and Irving overshadowed everything).
Still, Bron got his when it counted. He scored 16 points in the final two periods. He sank 8 of his 10 free throws and committed a modest 3 turnovers. He was vocal and engaged throughout, and even took a charge in the paint. And it was his three-ball with 32 seconds to go that all but sealed the Spurs’ fate.
48.4/53.8/86.7 – The Cavaliers’ field goal, three-point, and free throw percentages, respectively. They shot the hell out of the ball, and they had to to win. Irving and James hitting 57.7 percent of their 52 combined shots certainly helped, but some other Cavs had solid nights, too. Timofey Mozgov didn’t play great, but he scored 10 on 4-of-7 from the field. Tristan Thompson provided a vital boost off the bench and shot 5-of-9 en route to 12 points and 9 rebounds.
And actually, that was about it in terms of good shooting. Kevin Love was 2-of-10, J.R. Smith was 2-of-6, and Iman Shumpert was 1-of-6. Add in James Jones’ 0-for-1, and that’s all of the Cavs’ shots. On the bright side, while Love and Smith only made four baskets combined, they were all three-pointers.
Free throw shooting was huge for the Cavs. They made 10 of their last 11 starting at the 6:03 mark in the fourth quarter, and the only miss was LeBron’s final toss of the night with the game already in hand. Kyrie was perfect from the line and LeBron shot 80 percent, but two free throws that should not be overlooked were those that Tristan Thompson made to pull the Cavs within six with 1:44 remaining.
The final two minutes of a tight road game against the defending champs is about as big a spot as there is, and Tristan came through in the finest possible form. I never would have thought I’d feel comfortable with him guarding Tim Duncan in crunch time, but Thompson did, and he did well.
56.3, 28 – The Spurs’ field goal percentage and assist total, respectively. Make no mistake, they played a terrific basketball game. They screened and cut and passed like five surgeons carving into a torso, and virtually everyone contributed. The expected parties―Leonard, Parker, and Duncan―led the way, combining for 73 points, 25 rebounds, and 21 assists. The team shot 61 percent from the field in the first half and assisted on 17 of their 27 baskets.
But, like a good breakfast, the Spurs were balanced. Danny Green scored 24, hit five triples, and blocked four shots. Boris Diaw scored 9 points and played his chubby French post-up game. Patty Mills hit two threes off the bench. Tiago Splitter scored nine and played solid defense. They weren’t quite at full strength, as Manu Ginobili only played 10 minutes due to illness, but they looked like a team with eyes on another Finals run more than a team ready to fade into the horizon.
15-of-23 – Tony Parker’s shooting numbers. His effort may well be forgotten since it came on the same night as Kyrie’s, but Thursday night was vintage Parker. He was all head fakes and floaters in the lane until the Cavs started going under screens, at which point he started pulling up from midrange and burying jumpers. He scored 31 points and nearly put the Cavs away down the stretch, only for his counterpart to match and ultimately surpass him.
Parker and Irving battled all night in a duel of two of the finest point guards in the league. Kyrie was 9-of-13 at the half, and Parker 9-of-12. They traded baskets for much of the game, each player slithering past the other for layups or losing him to get space for jumpers.
Parker was a worthy foe until Kyrie entered a different dimension sometime in the second half.
44 – Minutes played by both LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard. It is little coincidence that the two played the same amount of minutes, as Leonard was tasked with shadowing James all night, a chore he seems to relish. LeBron brings out the best in him, and he was at his best Thursday, totaling 24 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists on 9-of-14 shooting. Last year’s Finals MVP has been injured for much of the year but has come on lately, averaging 21.5 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 2.7 steals in his previous six outings entering this game.
His defense against James was especially good. Leonard’s arms are so long and his hands so big and quick that he can constantly reach and poke at the ball without compromising his position. A dribbler can cross over from right to left and back again, and Leonard’s hands will be tracking the ball the whole time. LeBron could barely make a move toward the hoop without coming off a screen, and Leonard did a great job of ducking past those, too.
He has to do it over a whole season before he truly enters the conversation of best players in the league, but on any given night Kawhi’s all-around game is already there.
18, 11, 8, 4, 38 – Tim Duncan’s points, rebounds, assists, blocks, and years lived. He’s been so good for so long that we need to make up new words for consistency and longevity. He’s more of a machine than Chappie, Johnny Five, and the T-1000 put together. He’s often and rightly referred to as the greatest power forward ever, but it’s said with understatement, not awe. When we say LeBron is the best player, we call him the best player on Earth to add that extra oomph. Timmy? Just the greatest power forward ever. No big deal. Thursday’s game was roughly the millionth great one of his career.
1 – Tired scribe, yours truly. What a game. What a night.
- Irving tied the overall record for a Spurs opponent; Golden State’s Purvis Short also scored 57 in 1984. [↩]
35 Comments
Way to go, Will. That was Kyridiculous!
I went to bed when the Cavs were down 7 with 1:24 and the Spurs having the ball. I was angry at Blatt for his questionable rotations, especially in the 4th quarter. I plead having 2 small children as my defense as I needed to get my sleep and I probably would have woke them up when Kyrie went nuts.
i watched this game fighting off sleep. So glad i stayed up. For me, nothing surpasses what LeBron did against Detroit but this is a very close second. LeBron’s was in the playoffs so it carries more weight.
Wins like this make you feel pretty darn good about the team heading into the playoffs.
Can we please stop talking about the stupid Browns and enjoy what we have right in front of us, Cleveland sports fans? And even when there is Cavs talk, it’s only about the fear of breaking up this new gang of ours after one season. We are on a run (23-5) for the ages and we’re Missing It!
i was there; it was awesome!
I wish I could employ Will to describe how I feel about Will’s write-ups. The Spurs-to-waves comparison is pure sports poetry.
No.
Great write-up Will – you elevated your game as well
Really liked the wave analogy.
“The Spurs had scored on four of their last five possessions. The Cavs were down by seven. I thought they were done.”
A little over a minute left in the 4th. I took the dog out and went up to bed. A couple minutes later, my wife yells, “They tied it!!” Not getting my hopes all the way up, I’m like, “Is the game still on?”
“OVERTIME!!” The dog watched me through the OT, wondering why that crazy human had gotten back up and was now as animated as he’s been in a while.
To you guys who really know basketball: was the contrast of the Cavs’ lack of set plays and ball movement vs. the Spurs’ finding open guys cutting to the hoop for layups as frustrating to you as it was to me? Also- I assume that in a playoff series, these Spurs are what you’ll get. This is their ceiling. The Cavs, however, would have more time to develop more strategy on offense. Am I just fooling myself?
Amazing write up. Except for one thing. Bud Light? Really?? Miller Lite beats Bud Light in that category every day of the week and twice on Sunday.
To your last point yes it is frustrating, however for this year we are probably going to have to rely on hero ball to get us as far as we can go. The Spurs are Navy Seal Team 6, an elite crew that has been together forever and drill relentlessly until they function as a single unit. The Cavs are The Dirty Dozen*, a group of rogues with specific talents thrown together and just told to get the job done. Unlike the Miami/Boston “big 3’s” these guys didn’t even really have a single summer to get together because of Lebron’s decision and how the Love trade had to wait 30 days. Just accept it for what it is, enjoy the ride and hope that an offseason together gets everyone working as a unit.
*Right now I’m calling Jr is Bronson and Lebron gets to be Jim Brown, everyone else is up for grabs.
Not to interrupt but I just saw a tweet from some guy saying that Farmer and Habscram were on the UTEP campus working out long snappers! OMG do you remember how long snappers were such a problem last year? They are definetly committed to getting this thing right. If they nail this long snapper thing I say they go 14-8 WOOF WOOOF WOOOOOOOF
(sorry I totally agree)
Will, that is a very impressive bit of detailed on-the-spot reporting. Very impressive. Great job.
While I agree that the Spurs probably won’t be much better than they were last night, we lose the series if we play the way we did. We were severely out coached and won by virtue of Irving imposing his will on whoever Popovich put in front of him.
I know this was just a regular season game, and hopefully Blatt will be able to scheme better in a playoff scenario, but if Kyrie doesn’t have a career game, we lose that game.
That said, I’m just going to bask in a great win and an unbelievable individual performance today and think about how awesome it is that we have two players who can take over a game like that when needed.
I think come playoff time, they’ll be fine. All I know for sure is it’s going to be a ton of fun to watch.
Well done. I think you’re my favorite writer at WFNY, and as an avid reader of this website, that’s intended to be a lofty compliment.
I really like the Dirty Dozen v Seal Team 6 comparison. Nicely done.
I’m probably being unfair, but whenever James holds the ball out front while the lane is open, and the defense gets set, I’m shouting, “LAZY”.
I continue to assume Blatt, with his international hoops pedigree, can make scoring easier to come by.
Who’s their Donald Sutherland?
You’ve made my dad proud with this comment. He was so upset the golf tourney we went to yesterday didn’t have Miller Lite that he refused to drink. For a solid minute at least. But still, that’s saying something.
I *knew* that would ruffle someone’s feathers.
I have long been–and remain–a big believer that, all things considered, college basketball is superior to the pro game from a fan’s perspective. But that game last night was simply on another level. It wasn’t just 1-on-5 hero ball (though that showed up from time to time on the Cavs side of things), which I despise. Kyrie was getting his largely within the flow of things–I never felt like he was forcing anything. Bron threw up the quietest 31 I think I’ve ever seen. Parker was great, Duncan was Duncan, Leonard and Danny Green were everywhere…it was as much fun watching any level of basketball as I can remember having since 90s MJ was dropping jaws on an almost nightly basis.
And you people wanted to trade Kyrie for Rondo.
Also, I’d like to have the group focus on two plays early in the game.
1. Swish on the elbow bounce pass to a cutting LBJ for the highlight dunk of the night.
2. Kyrie on the elbow bounce pass to a crashing LBJ for his second highlight dunk of the night.
I couldnt see the rest of the team spacing on the floor for these but I am imagining it had Bron and Love on the wings and Moz down low.
These two sequences are the exact blueprint to the Cavs winning it all and when they are at their most powerful.
Amazing game boy am I glad the Cavaliers didn’t trade Irving like some of the people who comment here wanted a year ago. He’s worth every penny! The Cavaliers wealth of talent overcame Blatt trying to lose this game. This fourth quarter stuff where Mozgov never plays is getting to be absurd. If that wasn’t bad enough to sit Love as well almost cost the Cavs. James Jones couldn’t defend against Diaw and the others Spurs big man and TT had his hands full with Duncan. Well that is when he wasn’t switching trying to guard a guard like Parker.
I disagree LBJ was all the Cavaliers had in that Detroit game last night was all about Kyrie Irving who showed Tony Parker that there is a new breed of PGs in the NBA. Even Damian Lillard tweeted about KI’s performance last night.
Thank you Grossi was even tweeting about the Cavs game then he had to come back to reality and talk about the pathetic pumpkinheads. No more calling this farce organization the Browns they will from now on be referred to as the pumkinheads or just the football team. I feel sorry for the players and Pettine.
And you people wanted to trade Kyrie for Rondo. Glad I’m not the only one who remembers people wanting to trade Kyrie Irving.
First, Kyrie is confirming what I’m feeling: he loves big games. The TNT klieg lights don’t get him nervous, they warm him and make him all fuzzy. He’s going to embrace the playoff tension, and he’s going to be great. (Kevin, try sitting next to him, and geez, stop grinding your teeth so loud).
Second, both teams won big last night. When I went to bed in the 3rd quarter I thought fine, Cavs are getting full-on Spurs playoff treatment and reacting well. Win or lose, good playoff prep in a hostile arena and where attention to detail is everything. Ending up with the win to boot is a confidence jack. And the Spurs can correctly say: that’s what it takes to beat us? Fine, even if Kyrie goes nuclear again we’ll just hit our FTs. We’re playing like last year.
– Finally, Danny Green is why you keep Joe Harris. Develop him. One day he’ll be that guy and we’ll need that.
[and Will, just beautiful]
Also, I stand by my statement that WFNY needs more satirical stuff like this gem: https://waitingfornextyear.com/2014/09/joe-haden-justin-gilbert-browns/
I agree for the most part on Blatts rotations. But I will pointy out that I think he is doing an exceptional job on keeping everyones minutes down. We are winning now, and it seems that no one is playing more than 38 minutes a night.
It’s not about minutes although I am really happy the Cavaliers had a day off between Dallas and San Antonio and now have two days off before Sunday vs Orlando. It’s about player match-ups and the horrible switching it led to last night. Switching which SA exploited repeatedly well into OT while both Love and Mozgov sat on the bench.
Really? Water beats water every day of the week and twice on Sunday?
“This fourth quarter stuff where Mozgov never plays is getting to be
absurd. If that wasn’t bad enough to sit Love as well almost cost the
Cavs.”
1. Mozgov was a clear offense liability last night and his hands couldn’t be trusted on the floor. Playing small with a better offensive rebounding Tristan was the right move.
2. At this point LBJ clearly trusts James Jones as a defender and a wing player in crunch time. Also, as reported by Amico Kevin’s back became an issue late last night and was sitting due to it.
Mozgov has barely appeared in any fourth quarters not just last night. Thompson wasn’t enough against the lineup SA had it was clear it took KI and LBJ to do what they did.
As for Love’s back hadn’t heard it but honestly I’ve heard it before. Is that why when he did play he wasn’t involved? Perhaps they should sit him down I mean they have 2 days off then play Orlando and Miami not exactly two powerhouses.
I’ve been screaming for Love to sit an extended period since before the All Start break.
Unfortunately I am screaming to myself, in my backyard far from where Gilbert, Griffin, Blatt or LeBron can hear me.
Just seems like a convenient excuse when Love says he’s ok that doesn’t help. I get he wants to play and do whatever to help but honestly if he’s not 100% and it’s not allowing him to play down low then by all means rest him. Especially now with multiple days off and verse Orlando and Miami. It’s not like they’d be missing him.