CLEVELAND — Thanks to 21 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists, Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving netted his first career triple-double of his NBA career.
In a deft display of rebounding, shooting and passing, Irving recorded Cleveland’s first triple-double since LeBron James did so in 2010 against the Los Angeles Lakers. Tonight the Cavaliers point guard accomplished the feat in a 99-79 victory over the Utah Jazz. With the win, Cleveland has now won eight of their last 11 games, after losing three straight.
After Irving scored 14 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter in a 114-104 road upset win over the West-leading Oklahoma City Thunder, the former top overall pick out of Duke in 2011 and Rookie of The Year has played with a real edge. He finished the game against the Thunder with nine assists, five rebounds and four steals as well.
Against the Jazz, Irving got help from Tristan Thompson, Spencer Hawes, Luol Deng and Tyler Zeller as the four combined for 57 points and 42 rebounds and were efficient as the Jazz did not have an answer defensively. Jarrett Jack was the only player to struggle as he went 2-9 from the field and finished the game with five points.
For Utah, Gordon Hayward nearly picked up a triple-double, yet came up short while finishing with 18 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Richard Jefferson (13 points) and Alec Burks (11 points) were the only other Jazz players to score in double-figures.
Cleveland will look to win their third straight game against and will face the Memphis Grizzlies tomorrow while Utah heads to Indianapolis and will face the Pacers on Sunday and hopes to avoid its second straight loss.
More importantly for the Cavaliers the 2014 NBA All-Star Game MVP is finally showing that he is finally beginning to blossom into a true NBA point guard. In his last five games he has averaged 21.8 points, 8.8 assists, 5.4 rebounds and 1.4 steals.
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