After coming under fire by NBA fans, personalities and even the NBA head office, the Cavs Big 3 were on a roll just a night later as they took on a young and hungry Los Angeles Lakers outfit, after sitting against their counterpart LA Clippers the night before.
LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love returned to the starting lineup in the hopes of clinching a playoff spot with a victory. It was no easy night for the Wine and Gold, as the Cavs got the Lakers best punch in an entertaining, high scoring affair inside Staples Center.
The Cavaliers needed 43 points in the fourth period to overcome the Lakers, but they leaned on the excellence of their Big 3 to do so.
James dropped 34 points on 13-of-22 shooting, Love had 21 points and 15 rebounds and Irving was incredible all night long pouring in 46 points on 15-of-21 shooting and going 6-for-10 on his three-point attempts. Irving also sunk all 10 of his free throws from the line as big free throw shooting was key in the Cavs’ triumph on the evening.
Fox Sports Ohio’s Allie Clifton caught up with Irving after the contest, discussing the importance of the Duke product producing this late into the season with the playoffs around the corner via gimemesport.com.
“It’s great” Irving said. “Just staying aggressive, getting to my spots, making sure I’ve got my legs under me, and trying to make plays for myself and my teammates staying in that mindset no matter what. Despite what the score says keep attacking keep attacking, and I feel like when I’m at that pace it goes well for my teammates.”
The Cavs Big 3 combined for 101 of the Cavs’ 125 total points on the evening, and they set a franchise record for combined scoring for a trio. No other three players had ever combined for over 100 points for the Cavaliers, but James, Irving and Love made history on Sunday night.
101 combined points for @KyrieIrving, @KingJames, and @kevinlove tonight — a new high for the trio.
[@firstenergycorp 📸of the game] pic.twitter.com/DlOCwQ2Lz8
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) March 20, 2017
When two of the Big 3 don’t play for the Cavs, they are 0-11, and when they do suit up, the Cavs become the most formidable force in the Eastern Conference. With Love returning from his knee injury, the Cavs are nearly full health heading into the most important time of the year.
