All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving returned after sitting out two games, and played a big role in the Cavaliers 118-88 win that completed a sweep of the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference finals.
They took command of the Eastern Conference finals minus their All-Star point guard.
That didn’t mean the Cavaliers didn’t miss Kyrie Irving.
Tuesday night, in Game 4 of the conference finals, the Cavs were thrilled to have him back, and Irving played a big role in their 118-88 win that completed a sweep of the Hawks.
“It felt amazing,” Irving said. “I definitely wanted to be a part of this celebration, especially a close-out game like that. I just wanted to give my teammates a spark and come in and make an impact.”
Irving missed Games 2 and 3 of the conference finals with left knee tendinitis. He also has been hampered by a right foot sprain he suffered during the first-round series against Boston.
Those injuries have left him hobbling at various points the last two rounds.
Tuesday, he looked much better and his teammate loved seeing that.
“Having Kyrie back was one of the most important factors because he’s a huge piece to this big puzzle that we have,” Cavs guard J.R. Smith said. “It’s great to see him out there physically moving the way he wants to move.”
Irving played 22 minutes, as the Cavs did not look to play him in long stretches. But he was definitely a factor when on the floor. He scored 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting, with five assists and four rebounds. He shot 2-for-3 on 3-pointers, and also made a steal, blocked a shot and committed just one turnover.
“He did fabulously ... played beautifully,” Cavs head coach David Blatt said. “He moved well. He was impactful. But it’s a lot bigger than that. The fact that he came back to play, the fact that he wanted so badly to be a part of us winning this series and being able to move forward ... to be with his guys and contribute.”
Irving wasted no time making an impact Tuesday.
The Cavs’ first offensive trip down the floor ended with Irving dropping in a right-handed floater from the left side. A few possessions later, Irving buried his first attempt at 3-pointer.
Later in the quarter he showed he could take a hit. Irving went to work on Dennis Schroder in the mid-post on the left side. Irving faced him up, beat him off the dribble into the lane and scored as Paul Millsap knocked him to the floor with a foul.
Irving got right back up and the Cavs had their first 10-point lead in what became a blowout.
Blatt said Irving’s minutes were important because backup point guard Matthew Dellavedova, “barely could get up off the bench ... he was very sick.”
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