Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love both played their first career playoff games Sunday against Boston. Irving had an astounding 30 points hitting shots from all over the floor effortlessly while Love did the bulk of his work down low en route to a 19 point, 12 rebound night. LeBron James and Cavaliers’ head coach David Blatt talked to the media after the game regarding the play of Irving and Love:
LeBron James on how Irving and Love played today:
“I thought thy were phenomenal. Kyrie is our floor general. He set the tone early. Obviously, he’s able to shoot ball well. Even with Kevin’s shot not falling early, it was just the rhythm he was in. When Kevin shoots eight free throws that shows he’s very aggressive. They succeeded their first time out. Our fans were very intense. We have to just play the game. If you don’t like a ref’s call, you’ve got to maintain your game plan and play your game. They were making a lot of shots early on. You have to focus on the next possession.”
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LeBron on the importance of getting Love involved:
“It’s very important that Kevin stays involved for our rhythm to feel like he’s a part of what we’re doing. We have to find a way to get Kev touches. Him and J.R. find themselves open for three’s. We wanted him to stay with it. He did that in the second half.”
Head coach David Blatt talked about how Love’s play in the post sparked the rest of his teammates in Game 1:
I really like the way Kevin was locked in the whole game. He was playing the game regardless of whether the shot was going in or not. He continued to play. The guy finished with 19 points, 12 rebounds and he drew two charges. One of them was at a critical time. Everyone was worried what Kyrie and Kevin were going to do in their first playoff games. Kyrie had 30 and Kevin had 19 and 12, and Tristan. So I guess there’s the answer.
When asked about Irving’s shooting and the rhythm he got early that continued throughout the game:
“We found him when we needed to, and we gave him the space to play, and helped him to create. Listen, he’s a tough guy to guard. Let’s be honest. He has the ability to create his own shot, create for others, and we have other guys around him who can create for him and get looks at the basket. It’s no big secret. That’s the way it works.”