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CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Cavaliers honored Kyrie Irving on Saturday at Rocket Arena as part of their celebration of the 2016 championship’s 10th anniversary. Afterward, Irving thanked Cleveland fans for sticking with him from the start of his career.
Irving scored 34 points in the Dallas Mavericks’ 127-117 loss, and 28 of them came after halftime. He shot 11-of-25 from the field and 7-of-16 from three, and he added 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals.
Saturday was the second of three 10th Anniversary Celebration games on Cleveland’s schedule. The series opened Nov. 7 against the New York Knicks and closes Dec. 12 against the Golden State Warriors, the team Cleveland beat in the 2016 NBA Finals. The team has said it will recognize members of the 2016 roster through in-game moments, giveaways, and concourse activations.
Cleveland drafted Irving first overall out of Duke in 2011, when he was 19. He spent six seasons with the Cavaliers and made the go-ahead 3-pointer in the final minute of Game 7 of the 2016 Finals, which ended the city’s 52-year major championship drought. The Cavaliers traded him to Boston in 2017.
Kyrie Irving Says Cleveland Gave Him Time To Take It In
Irving missed Dallas’ trip to Cleveland last season, a 130-120 Mavericks win on March 15, while he recovered from a torn ACL. He said the support he received Saturday came to him in a different way than it had on his earlier trips back.
“This one felt a lot different than the other times, just because of maybe just the patience, in terms of like the game flow,” Irving said. “Last time, you just kind of do a quick coming out of a timeout, but this time I got to really settle in, really ground myself, and embrace the support that’s here for me. It’s been 10 years, but it’s been a great reflection point for me to be able to come back and be able to again receive that support in a different way.”
Irving had 6 points on 1-of-7 shooting at halftime. He scored 20 in the third quarter, including 11 during a 14-2 Dallas run, and his 30-foot pull-up with 1:39 left in the period cut Cleveland’s lead to 97-88.
Irving Credits Cleveland Cavaliers Fans For 2016 Title
Cleveland went 21-45 in Irving’s rookie season and missed the playoffs in each of his first three years. He thanked Cavaliers fans, the city, and the rest of Ohio for staying with him through that stretch.
“I’m so grateful for all the Cavs fans, Cleveland in general, Ohio, wrapping their arms around me as well,” Irving explained, “and also sticking it through with me as I was a young person, just launching shots, trying to be the best player in the world, and trying to be in the MVP conversations at a very young age. And I felt like I was on that trajectory.”
“But I think when I look at it now, I’m just grateful that I was playing against the best of the best,” Irving continued, “going against best teams in the world, getting everybody’s best shot for about three straight years, and a lot of young players never get to experience that.”
“Being on the hunt for championships every single year,” Irving added. “So I take those little moments and try my best to connect it to the fans here as well, because we couldn’t have done it without them. Everybody’s just well wishing us, praying for us. Fifty-two years, long, long period of time waiting for a championship, and we did it.”
Cleveland trailed Golden State 3-1 in the 2016 Finals and won the last three games of the series. The Cavaliers clinched the title in Game 7 on June 19, 2016, in Oakland.
Irving gives himself a lot of grace when he looks back on his first years in Cleveland. He was named Rookie of the Year after the lockout-shortened 2011-12 season.
“Really proud of myself, and really proud of the guys that influenced my career positively while I was here,” Irving said. “From the front office to the medical staff to strength and conditioning to our coaches to my teammates, like everybody had a positive impact on my career in some way or another.”
Dallas fell to 7-6 with its second straight loss. The Mavericks finish a back-to-back Sunday against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden, with tip-off at 5 p.m. CT.
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