Kyrie Irving: 5 highest scoring games as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers
Kyrie Irving is a top 5 PG in the league today. He is also the best dribbler in the NBA today and is a nightmare for defences to guard on every single night. The 2016 NBA champion is an effortless scorer and is currently playing for the Boston Celtics.
The five-time NBA All-Star was selected as the first overall pick in 2011 NBA draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers and went on to win the Rookie of the Year award after averaging 18.5 points, 3.7 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game. He is also the 2013 NBA 3-point shooting contest champion, scored 23/30 in the final round.
In his debut season with the Celtics, Kyrie averaged 24.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 5.1 assists and played a key role in Boston's success. Though he did not play the playoffs after a season-ending knee surgery, he was a regular feature courtside and cheered for his team. Boston lost in Conference Finals in 7-games to Kyrie's former team, Cleveland Cavaliers. We take a look at Irving's five highest scoring games in Cavaliers jersey.
#5 45 at Atlanta Hawks, 9th April, 2017
Stat line: 45 points, 2 rebounds, 9 assists and a steal on 53.3% shooting
The Cavaliers suffered a tough loss at home two nights before and came for a revenge-game to the Philips Arena for a game against the Hawks. Kyrie Irving came up big and dropped 45 points but the Cavaliers couldn't get the win.
Kyrie went for an impressive 16-30 from the field with a field-goal percentage of 53.3. From the three-point range, he went berserk for 8-12 on a 66.7 3-point field-goal percentage. LeBron James had 32 points on the night along with 16 rebounds and 10 assists for a triple-double.
The Hawks bench outscored Cavaliers bench 44-16 and that proved to be a key factor as the Hawks held on to a one-point win in over-time. The Cavaliers collapsed late and the Hawks erased a 26-point second-half deficit to walk away with the win.