AFP/New York
Kyrie Irving scored a career-high 57 points, including 11 in overtime, as the Cleveland Cavaliers rallied for a thrilling 128-125 NBA victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday.
Irving had the most points in the NBA this season, bettering his own 55-points in a win over Portland in January.
Cleveland’s 22-year-old Australian-born star scored nine points in the final minute of regulation, including a three-pointer to knot the score at 110-110 and send the game into overtime.
He added 11 points in the extra period as the Cavaliers snapped a 10-game losing streak against the reigning NBA champion Spurs.
“All the credit goes to my team-mates,” Irving said. “They were doing a great job of screening me, getting me open.
“Our offensive execution down the stretch was huge. We got stops when we needed it.
“We were all tired going into that overtime, but there’s no excuses,” added Irving, who connected on all seven of his three-point attempts, was 20-of-32 from the field and made 10 of 10 free throws.
“Everybody’s gearing up for playoff basketball.”
Four-time NBA Most Valuable Player LeBron James added 31 points, five rebounds and seven assists for Cleveland, and gave his young team-mate an emotional congratulatory embrace when the game concluded.
The victory snapped a six-game Spurs winning streak, while the Cavs improved to 2-0 on their current four-game road trip.
San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard was looking like the hero of the game, effectively containing James early while putting up 22 points, nine rebounds and six assists.
But Leonard missed two free throws with 3.4 seconds remaining in regulation, opening the door for Irving’s game-tying three-pointer.
An inbound pass from James found Irving at the top of the key and he went right, rose and drained the basket to force overtime.
It was the first time since the second quarter that the Cavs had leveled the contest.
With the win, Cleveland improved to 42-25 and remained in first place in the Central Division and second in the Eastern Conference.
The Spurs endured their first March defeat since 2013. They had won 20 games in the month of March prior to Thursday’s game.
The defending NBA champs are sixth in the Western Conference.
Point guard Tony Parker led the Spurs with 31 points and six assists. Leonard finished with 24 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Danny Green also chipped in 24 points, while Tim Duncan contributed 18 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists.
Meanwhile, taking advantage of a Memphis team weakened through rest and injury, Washington used a 25-6 second-quarter run to roll to a 107-87 victory over the Grizzlies.
On the final leg of a four-game road swing, Memphis coach Dave Joerger rested starters Marc Gasol, Zach Randolph and Tony Allen, and sat guard Mike Conley, who suffered an ankle injury in the team’s loss Wednesday at Boston.
That decision put the game in the hand of Memphis’ reserves, and they started strong, shooting 59% in the first quarter to open a 33-26 lead.
However, the Grizzlies ran out of gas in the second period as Washington led by as many as 27 points in the second half.
Marcin Gortat led all scorers with 22 points, and guard John Wall sparked the Wizards with 21.
Rudy Gobert scored 19 points and grabbed a career-high 22 rebounds as Utah earned a wire-to-wire 109-91 victory over Houston.
Six Jazz players finished in double figures, with forward Gordon Hayward leading all scorers with 29 points.
Gobert posted a double-double in the first quarter with 10 points and 10 rebounds. The French center also finished with four blocked shots.
Reserve guard Rodney Stuckey scored 25 points and reserve forward Luis Scola added 17 points and 15 rebounds to fuel Indiana’s overtime 109-103 victory over Bucks.