Cleveland Cavaliers’ Kyrie Irving (2) loses control of the ball under pressure from Sacramento Kings Ben McLemore (23) during the second quarter of an NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 30, 2015, in Cleveland. (Tony Dejak, The Associated Press)
Spotlight on… Kyrie Irving, point guard, Cavaliers
When: For the third consecutive week, the NBA had a player top the 50-point mark in a game. This time it was Cleveland’s Kyrie Irving, and that, plus a solid week overall, makes him The Denver Post’s NBA player of the week.
What’s up: The Cavaliers are on a hot streak, and with Irving playing a huge part, they won all four games. Irving averaged 33.8 points, 5.8 assists and 1.8 steals, while shooting 50.5 percent from the field and 54.8 percent from the 3-point line.
Background: It hasn’t been the smoothest transition for Irving since the arrival of LeBron James, but he has gone about his business like a pro and is hitting his stride. His 55 points in a win over Portland — a game James missed — was the most sparkling of the four performances. He hit 11 3-pointers in that one, and made 17-of-36 shots after starting 0-of-7 in the game. So he finished that game 17-of-29. Crazy. And that game was played the day after he poured in 38 points in a win over Detroit.
Dempsey’s take: Irving is one of the true gentlemen of the NBA and as talented a guard as you’ll find. He was last season’s All-Star Game MVP, and he’s back in that classic. Cleveland struggled for the first 2½ months this season, but with a couple of shrewd trades and players such as Irving stepping up, the Cavs are resembling the team that was expected to contend for a title.
