WASHINGTON, DC // With rumours of dissent swirling, the Cleveland Cavaliers found a surefire remedy – a virtuoso performance by slumping All-Star Kyrie Irving.
Irving scored nine of his 41 points in overtime to help the Cleveland Cavaliers snap a three-game skid with a 103-96 victory over the Washington Wizards on Saturday night.
Irving scored seven straight points on three possessions in overtime to give Cleveland the lead for good. He later added an 18-foot jumper to match his career high and finish 14 of 28 from the floor and 4 of 7 from beyond the arc.
Earl Clark hit three key 3-pointers in the fourth quarter for the Cavaliers, finishing with 11 points. Tristan Thompson added 15 points and 12 rebounds, and oft-injured center Andrew Bynum made his second start in as many years, contributing six points and three rebounds.
Bradley Beal scored 28 points for Washington, who lost their fourth straight game. Nene added 24 points and seven rebounds.
Coming into the game, Irving was shooting just 38 percent from the floor and 32 percent from 3-point range. He broke out of his slump Saturday night while wearing a mask to protect his broken nose.
“Shots were falling with the mask on,” Irving said. “I have to wear it for two more weeks. No excuses. Shots were falling.”
In a duel of the No 1 overall draft picks in back-to-back NBA drafts, Irving got the best of Washington’s John Wall, who scored nine points and dealt 12 assists.
“Every time we play against each other we’re always trying to go at each other,” Irving said. “We always take it as a personal challenge. It’s not about being a No 1 pick, or anything like that. It’s just another good point guard going against another good one and putting on a show for the fans.”
After Washington took a 45-30 lead in the second quarter, Irving led Cleveland back. He hit three 3-pointers in the final 89 seconds of the first half to draw the Cavaliers within 49-44.
Washington had a five-point lead with three minutes left, but Matthew Dellavedova hit a floater for his only points in 30 minutes coming off the Cavaliers’ bench. Irving added a 21-footer and his pair of free throws with 32 second left gave Cleveland the lead. On the next possession, Nene hit his first free throw, but missed the second and the game went to overtime.
Washington also rued an inexplicable turnover by Beal, who stole the ball from Dellavedova with 52 seconds left, but lost the ball as he was going down floor for a breakaway that would have put the Wizards up by three.
“You could point to anything,” Washington coach Randy Wittman said. “We have a breakaway layup that I still – I’ve got to look at it. I turn around thinking he’s dunking the ball. Getting ready to hear the crowd and I hear a moan. I don’t know what happened.”
It was the first road win this year for Cleveland, which called a players-only meeting after a 29-point loss Wednesday at Minnesota. Coach Mike Brown admitted he is still searching for the right chemistry.
“We were down 15. We could have easily quit. We’re kind of discombobulated. Andrew hadn’t practiced and threw him out there and started him,” Brown laughed. “Not one unit out there knew anything that we were doing. I didn’t know what we were doing. Threw Earl in at the four. Earl doesn’t know what he’s doing at the four. We just kind of made it up on the fly.”
OTHER SATURDAY RESULTS
Bulls 110, Pacers 94
Last year, the Chicago Bulls ended Miami’s 27-game winning streak and on Saturday, they ruined Indiana’s 9-0 start to the season with a convincing 110-94 victory at United Center.
Forward Luol Deng led the Bulls (5-3) with 23 points. Guard Derrick Rose, who missed the previous game with a sore right hamstring, scored 20 points and knocked down six-of-11 attempts from three-point range.
Forward Taj Gibson added 15 points and a team-high eight rebounds.
Center Roy Hibbert led the Pacers with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Heat 97, Bobcats 81
Forward LeBron James scored 30 points and the Miami Heat won their third straight contest with a 97-81 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats.
James followed up a season-high 39-point effort on Friday against Dallas with another vintage performance, hitting 13-of-18 from the field.
He also had seven assists and four rebounds in 32 minutes, sitting out the last seven.
The Heat (7-3) have now won six of their last seven games while Charlotte had a two-game winning streak snapped and fell to 5-5.
Mavericks 108, Magic 100
Guard Monta Ellis had 19 points and Dirk Nowitzki 18 points to lead the Dallas Mavericks to a 108-100 victory over the Orlando Magic at the Amway Arena.
It was the ninth consecutive victory for the Mavericks in Orlando, but only their second victory away from home this season.
The Mavs got some unexpected help with a season-high 18 points from reserve forward DeJuan Blair.
The Magic were led by guard Arron Afflalo, who had 25 points.
Hawks 110, Knicks 90
The Atlanta Hawks extended the New York Knicks home losing streak to five games with a 110-90 win at Madison Square Garden.
Point guard Jeff Teague led a balanced scoring attack for Atlanta (5-5), leading eight players in double figures, with 16 points.
Shooting guard Kyle Korver scored 15 points and forward Paul Millsap, acquired in the off-season by the Hawks, recorded his third double-double in his last six games, scoring 14 points and grabbing 13 rebounds.
Forward Carmelo Anthony led the Knicks in scoring with 23 points.
Timberwolves 106, Celtics 88
The Minnesota Timberwolves continue to be a difficult team to slow down offensively as they carved out a 106-88 victory over the Boston Celtics.
Power forward Kevin Love scored 23 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for the Timberwolves, while center Nikola Pekovic scored 20 and grabbed 12 rebounds, and guard Kevin Martin added 20 points.
That trio was too much for Boston to overcome despite point guard Avery Bradley scoring a season-high 27 points and power forward Brandon Bass adding 15.
Pelicans 135, 76ers 98
Playing just 29 minutes, forward Anthony Davis scored 13 points and had a career-high eight blocks and nine rebounds as the New Orleans Pelicans placed eight players in double figures to rout the Philadelphia 76ers 135-98 at the New Orleans Arena.
The second-year pro might have had a chance for his first career triple-double, but coach Monty Williams pulled him with 3:15 left in the third quarter as the Pelicans were well on their way to the blowout.
Forward Ryan Anderson, playing for the first time since breaking a toe just before the season opener, nailed six three-pointers in 10 attempts and led all scorers with 26 points.
Rockets 122, Nuggets 111
Making his third consecutive start, Houston Rockets power forward Terrence Jones responded to a Denver Nuggets run with dynamic two-way plays to lead his team to a 122-111 win at Toyota Center.
Jones, the beneficiary of the midweek benching of Houston center Omer Asik, posted a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds while blocking three shots.
After the Nuggets (4-5) closed to within seven points in the third quarter, Jones led an 18-4 spurt with a blocked shot, an outlet pass that resulted in a Chandler Parsons layup, two dunks, and some nifty board work that inspired Houston (7-4).
Thunder 92, Bucks 79
Guard Russell Westbrook scored 26 points and forward Kevin Durant had 24 as the Oklahoma City Thunder snapped a two-game losing streak with a 92-79 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Forward Serge Ibaka chipped in 15 points with a career-high 20 rebounds and guard Reggie Jackson added 11 off the bench for the Thunder.
Oklahoma City (6-3) broke open a close game with a 16-6 run late in the third quarter.
Milwaukee (2-7) shot below 40 percent for the second straight night.
Clippers 110, Nets 103
On a night when Brook Lopez, Deron Williams, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett were all out of the line-up, the Nets entered the fourth quarter down only one point and Los Angeles (7-3) continued to lead by as little as one point with four minutes left.
In the final four minutes though Chris Paul and Blake Griffin combined for nine points and DeAndre Jordan hit 3-of-4 free throws near the end to ice it for a 110-103 victory.
Griffin went for 30 points and 12 rebounds, Jordan collected 16 rebounds and Paul had 12 points and 13 assists for the Clippers.
Andray Blatche and Mason Plumlee led Brooklyn with 19 points apiece.
Warriors 102, Jaz 88
Despite an off night from Stephen Curry (7-for-20 shooting, 15 points), Klay Thompson scored 25 and Andrew Bogut provided a double double with 12 points and 11 rebounds as Golden State (7-3) made Utah (1-10) the first team to 10 losses this season.
Andre Iguodala chipped in 16 points, six rebounds, three assists and four steals for the Warriors.
Forward Derrick Favors led the Jazz in scoring with 17 points.