On the 30th anniversary of Larry Bird’s famous 60-point game, it would only be appropriate if someone playing during Thursday night’s slate would pay homage by challenging for a 60-burger of their own. Fortunately, one man was kind enough to oblige. That man was Kyrie Irving, who already dropped 55 points on the Portland Trail Blazers earlier this season, falling one point shy of tying the Cleveland Cavaliers’ franchise record held by — you guessed it — LeBron James. This time, he wasn’t going to be denied.
LeBron, Kyrie and the Cavs faced off against the defending champion San Antonio Spurs, who came into the game on a six-game winning streak and playing their best ball of the season. They appeared to be headed toward win #7, leading 108-101 with 1:08 left to play, when Kyrie unlocked all of his cheat codes and took over. He scored the final nine points for the Cavs in regulation, capping off the barrage with a buzzer-beater three to send the game to overtime.
In overtime, Kyrie kept on going, adding two more threes and a three-point play to help seal an almost-improbable come-from-behind win for the Cavs.
LeBron drove the final nail into the Spurs’ coffin, but it didn’t overshadow Kyrie’s 57-point outburst (he was a perfect 7-7 from three). Now, all LeBron needs to do is channel his inner Larry Legend and go for 60 — which he’s already done once in his career.
[Dawkins]
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