“Sure, LeBron James has to get the most credit, but Kyrie averaged 27 in that finals and hit the dagger to secure the title” – Stephen A. Smith supports Kyrie Irving for response to heckling Cleveland Cavaliers fan
Kyrie Irving got chirped at by a Cleveland Cavaliers fan Monday night. The Nets lost 114-107 but not before Irving shot back at the heckler.
The exchange between Irving and the fan can be heard in the video embedded in Stephen A. Smith's tweet:
I completely side with KYRIE on this one. Sure, @KingJames has to get the most credit, but KYRIE avg 27 in that finals and hit the dagger to secure the title. Fair is Fair. @cavs don’t win title w/o KYRIE. Cleveland — of all places — should appreciate him most of all. twitter.com/complexsports/…
Stephen A. Smith on Kyrie Irving's 2016 Finals performance
Headlined in the tweet is Smith's opinion on the situation. Smith said:
“Sure, LeBron James has to get the most credit, but Kyrie averaged 27 in that Finals and hit the dagger to secure the title.”
The play to which Smith referred resulted in the final basket in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals beetween the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors.
With just 69 seconds remaining, Cleveland came out of a timeout looking to put the ball in Irving’s hands. After a pick-and-roll with JR Smith forced Stephen Curry to switch with Klay Thompson, Irving was faced with a one-on-one with Curry.
With Curry clamping Irving to cut any possible lane, Irving did his dance, then side-stepped just beyond the arc on the right wing. Irving buried the clutch shot with 53 seconds left.
Curry then failed on his attempt to tie the game with 33 seconds left, and LeBron James hit only one of his two foul shots as Cleveland won 93-89.
The series was so close before Irving’s clutch 3-pointer that they were tied at 699 points apiece in the series.
The championship was the Cavaliers' first in franchise history, ending a 52-year pro sports title drought for the city of Cleveland. It also made Cleveland the first NBA team to come back from a 3-1 series deficit to win a Finals.
Irving averaged 27.1 points and 2.1 steals for the series. Statistics like those prove him to be effective on both ends of the court, and once one understands the weight of his game-winner in the final minutes of Game 7, Irving's footprint on the victory is cast. Irving had a large impact throughout the entire series and complemented James and his athletic greatness well.
Throughout the video above Irving is seen doing what he does best, effectively and aggressively.
The only other player on the team to average more points than Irving was James at 29.7 ppg. James also averaged 11.3 rebounds, 8.9 assists, 2.6 steals and 2.3 blocks as he was named Finals MVP. James was, of course, a dominant reason for Cleveland's victory but Irving's contribution was also crucial.
Irving is a genius in creating space and looking for shot-option creations across the floor. Having a basketball IQ like his flowing with James by his side is an instant recipe for victory. There are many people who could potentially have trouble being in the position he was in. Kyrie showed how well he can mesh in just about any instance, while confidently rising up in the clutch.
Irving recently returned for the Brooklyn Nets. His first appearance back was against the Indiana Pacers, scoring 22 points with four assists and 3 rebounds in 32 minutes – not bad for his first game of the season.