Game four of the Eastern Conference Finals gave many Cavs fans a scare. They were down early to the Celtics who didn't have their leading scoring and leader in Isaiah Thomas, who is out due to a hip injury. The Cavs knew a 2-2 series going back to Boston wouldn't be the best scenario so they needed their stars to step up. LeBron James was hit with foul trouble and had had to sit out. Enter Kyrie Irving. He put on a dazzling performance, bailing out the Cavs and putting the team on his shoulders. He did all this after hurting his ankle on a drive to the bucket.
Everyone watched in awe at Kyrie's night including teammate LeBron James, who had many great things to say about Irving's special night.
Special night for a special kid
Kyrie Irving is one of those players that if he gets cooking, he will catch fire and burn your whole team. Irving put on quite the performance, dropping a playoff career-high 42 points on 15-22 shooting from the field. Irving put the Cavs on his back, scoring 21 of his 42 in the third quarter alone, propelling the Cavs to a comeback win over the C's. Irving put on this spectacular performance on a tender ankle. Irving went down with the ankle injury in the third quarter of Tuesday night's game, but he knew he wasn't going to come out.
The Celtics hoped he would, as they were getting frozen by Kyrie's dribbling exhibitions and giving up a path to the basket.
LeBron James was like one of the fans, admiring Kyrie's game saying postgame to Fox Sports Ohio, "The kid is special. I've been saying that since I came here. And he showed it again tonight why he's special.
The bigger the stage, the bigger he plays.
Irving is a special player, as he has the dribble-drive ability, he can also beat you from the perimeter. He is one of the best finishers in the league and he was snubbed from the All-NBA team. Kyrie Irving's 42-point night is the best scoring performance in the playoffs by a former Duke University player.
James applauded Kyrie by keeping the game within reach saying to FOX Sports Ohio, "Kyrie stepped up big and (did) not let the game get out of control going into the second half."
James was limited in the first and some of the second half due to foul trouble, picking up some ticky-tack fouls throughout the game. He still managed to drop 34, but he knew that Kyrie had the hot hand, and he was not about to get in the way of that. The third star in the big three, Kevin Love dropped in 17 points and 17 rebounds.
Repeat performance
Kyrie Irving got hot at the right time, propelling the Cavs to a comeback win. After this sensational night, will Kyrie Irving have a repeat performance in game five? He will need to take Wednesday to heal the ankle injury he suffered in game four.
Ankle injuries require a lot of rest and when there is only a day in between games, rest is the ultimate priority for Irving.
Kyrie addressed his ankle after the game saying, "My adrenaline is still going. I'm pretty sure I'll be sore when I get home."
There is no doubt he will feel some of the pain, but he will need to get over the pain like he did in game four, as the Cavs need his scoring ability to win game five. Traveling to Boston wouldn't help much as he will have to walk around an airport and board planes. The Cavs training staff will need to work their magic to make sure he is ready to go in game five.
Kyrie Irving bailed out LeBron and the Cavs in game four, putting on a masterful show.
LeBron doesn't give out praise like it's candy, but Kyrie Irving deserved every bit of it Tuesday night. The Cavs now hold a 3-1 lead over Boston with game five on Thursday. See if the Cavs can punch their ticket to The Finals on TNT at 8:30 Thursday night.
