Kyrie Irving's successful postseason debut, the Clippers' stunning blowout win over the Spurs and the rest of the action from Sunday in the NBA playoffs.
After waiting four years to make his postseason debut, Kyrie Irving didn't disappoint. The All-Star point guard led all scorers with 30 points as the Cavaliers earned a 113-100 Game 1 win over the Celtics on Sunday.
It was the kind of performance we've seen from Irving countless times over the past few years, but never in this kind of situation. The first three seasons of the former No. 1 overall pick's career were spent languishing near the bottom of the standings, so this is his first time playing meaningful games deep into the spring.
Taking in that playoff atmosphere at Quicken Loans Arena for the first time along with fellow Cavaliers star Kevin Love, Irving quickly got into a groove. He finished the first half with 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting, including a barrage of three-pointers in the second quarter highlighted by a buzzer-beater just before halftime that was pure ruthlessness:
It was a classic Irving performance, which is just what the Cavaliers wanted to see out of their gifted young point guard. Not only did the 23-year-old never look rattled by the circumstances, at times he was the one driving the Cavaliers along. Nobody watching the game would ever guess this was a guy taking the postseason stage for the first time.
On a night where James scored just 20 points on 8-of-18 shooting, and Love's debut consisted of 19 points on 5-of-12 shooting, Irving was the star. The Celtics actually offered up a pretty solid performance -- it just wasn't as good as what Irving and the Cavs could muster.
This continues a trend of Irving living up to expectations that's as exciting as any part of the Cavaliers. James remains the team's best player -- the one who will ultimately need to carry Cleveland at some point -- and there's little doubt this is still his team. Irving has stepped up at every stop, though, to the extent that we should probably start expecting this stuff to happen.
3 other things we learned
The Clippers aren't messing around. This was a chance for L.A. to come out and make a statement at home in Game 1 against the defending champs, and the team did just that with a 107-92 beatdown of the Spurs. The Clippers' stars all delivered, with Chris Paul firing up threes, Blake Griffin throwing down ridiculous dunks and DeAndre Jordan swatting shots all over the place. San Antonio actually took 15 more shots than L.A. in the game, but the Clippers outshot the team from the field, 51 percent to 37 percent. Paul (32 points, seven rebounds, six assists) helped put things away late, but Griffin was the real star of the night. He had so many ridiculous dunks we can show you one here and save an even better one for play of the night:
Portland's shorthanded roster won't cut it. The Trail Blazers already leaned heavily on Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Aldridge before, so the recent injuries to the roster have only magnified that. Without Wesley Matthews, Dorell Wright and Arron Afflalo, Portland's two All-Stars ended up taking 55 shots in Game 1 as the team lost to the Grizzlies, 100-86. Afflalo could be back soon, but without the other guys returning, it'll be up to the Trail Blazers to find ways to score against a balanced Memphis defense. Otherwise, Lillard and Aldridge will likely have to shoot the lights out from here if Portland wants any chance to be in this series.
Kyle Korver is a tough matchup for Brooklyn. Few players are as dangerous from beyond the arc as the Hawks wing, and he hit 5-of-11 three-pointers Sunday en route to a team-high 21 points for Atlanta. The team now leads the first-round series against the Nets, 1-0, and should regularly be able to capitalize on the floor-spacing ability Korver brings to the table. While the Nets have some wings who can score, Game 1 showed they'll have a tough time keeping up with one of the game's top players without the ball. Korver's ability to find open space in the Hawks' offense will be a challenge for Brooklyn in every game, and will be one of the key reasons Atlanta is such a tough out this year.
Play of the Night
Blake. BLAKE. Save something for the other games!!!
7 fun things
The Celtics have at least one celebrity supporter in Tom Brady.
It's not hard to see why Memphis fans love Zach Randolph so much when he does stuff like this.
Wins won't be easy to come by for the Nets against the Hawks but at least they'll have the highlights.
It's playoff time and that means MASCOT WRESTLING.
When your team is winning a blowout and they play your song.
I like to believe Blake Griffin is a strong dude, and even he had trouble helping Big Baby off the floor.
Steve Ballmer was LOVING those Griffin dunks.
Final scores
Cavaliers 113, Celtics 100 (Fear The Sword recap | CelticsBlog recap | SB Nation recap)
Hawks 99, Nets 92 (Peachtree Hoops recap | NetsDaily recap | SB Nation recap)
Grizzlies 100, Trail Blazers 86 (Grizzly Bear Blues recap | Blazer's Edge recap | SB Nation recap)
Clippers 107, Spurs 92 (Clips Nation recap | Pounding The Rock recap | SB Nation recap)
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