The Cleveland Cavaliers were the latest team to get steamrolled by the red-hot Brooklyn Nets. The Cavaliers hosted them during the NBA Monday slate at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse and lost 125-117. They trailed by as many as 19 points in the game as Brooklyn took control early and never relinquished it.
One of the standouts from the game was former Cavalier, Kyrie Irving. Irving poured in 32 points, shooting 11-of-19 from the field overall, 7-of-11 from 3-point range and 7-of-8 from the charity stripe. He also pulled down four rebounds and handed out five assists.
It was the kind of performance that Cavaliers’ big man Kevin Love was accustomed to seeing when the two were teammates. They helped LeBron James bring a championship to the city in 2016 when they defeated the Golden State Warriors, overcoming a 3-1 deficit to pull off an improbable comeback.
Irving was magnificent during that stretch, averaging 27.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 2.1 steals in 39 minutes per game during that series. That performance is part of the reason that Love believes Irving should have his jersey retired by the franchise at some point once his playing career is over.
“Without a doubt. Absolutely. Right away, after his career ends,” Love told cleveland.com when asked following the game on Monday night. “It’s not even a question to me. He needs to be up there. He made the biggest shot in franchise history and one of the most important shots in Finals history when you consider how it all went down — what it meant for the city, what it meant for his legacy, LeBron’s legacy and everything else, including that Golden State team that became a dynasty and was historically great.”
LATEST NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love & Cleveland Cavaliers Updates
Had Irving not played as well as he did, the Warriors would have completed the best season in NBA history, as they went 73-9 during the regular season, beating the previous record held by the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls. Coincidentally, Steve Kerr was a point guard on that Bulls team and the head coach for the Warriors.
Alas, the Bulls accomplished what the Warriors couldn’t as they won the championship. As the saying went, it don’t mean a thing without the ring. Irving and the Cavaliers have that ring in what was one of the most memorable NBA Finals in NBA history.
LATEST NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love & Cleveland Cavaliers Updates
Irving’s tenure with the Cavaliers was pretty short-lived as he spent the first six seasons of his career with the team. While things ended on a bad note, time heals all wounds and it wouldn’t surprise anyone if Irving and the franchise reconcile at some point and his jersey is raised to the rafters along with James, who will assuredly have his raised there soon after his career ends.
