Duke Blue Planet BLOG

One game after scoring a career-high 32 points, Kyrie Irving scored the game-winning bucket at the Boston Garden with 2.6 seconds left to give his Cleveland Cavaliers an 88-87 win.  Kyrie scored 23 points in the game on 1o-of-14 shooting, leading the Cavs to a big-time comeback win.

“I told him to run a high pick and roll and just see what you can get,” said Cavs coach Byron Scott about Kyrie’s game-winning play.  “He had the look in his eyes like he wanted it anyway.  At that particular time, I wasn’t thinking about his age.  I was just thinking about how pretty damn good he is with the ball in his hands.”

Kyrie led the Cavs back in the fourth quarter, capping an impressive comeback with the drive and layup.  Cleveland was down by as many as 11 in the fourth quarter and scored the final 12 points of the game.  Kyrie scored eight of Cleveland’s 26 fourth-quarter points, missing just one field-goal attempt.

I thought he dominated the fourth quarter,” said Celtics coach Doc Rivers (father of Austin!) of Kyrie.  ”He single-handily in my opinion willed that win for them.”

Here’s Kyrie’s game winner:

Kyrie Irving stars in an entertaining new commercial for ESPN’s NBA coverage.  Glad they found the young phenom so he can continue his impressive rookie campaign…

The Blue Devils remain on top in the NBA Fantasy League, leading UCLA by 464.8 points.  UNC, Kentucky and Texas rank third, fourth and fifth respectively.

Duke’s top producers so far this season have been Luol Deng, Carlos Boozer and Kyrie Irving.  The Blue Devil trio actually met in Cleveland last night, when the Bulls cruised past the Cavs 114-75.  Luol had 21 points and eight boards, Carlos went for 19 and 14 and Kyrie scored 13 points.

Mike Dunleavy and Corey Maggette remain sidelined due to injury and hope to return in the next few weeks.

About the Fantasy League: The Fantasy League awards points to former college players in the NBA, with each team consisting of a school’s college alums in the league.  Points are awarded for FGM, 3′s, points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks.  Players lose points for FGA and turnovers.

NBA Fantasy League Leaders
1. Duke: 4113.10
2. UCLA: 3648.30
3. UNC: 3368.10
4. Kentucky: 3359.2
5. Texas: 2708.20

NBA Fantasy League – Top Duke Performers
L. Deng: 581.90
C. Boozer: 549.70
K. Irving: 454.60
E. Brand: 434.30
G. Henderson: 415.50
J. Redick: 335.90

*Deng ranks sixth overall, trailing Kevin Love, Kevin Durant, LaMarcus Aldridge, Greg Monroe and Russell Westbrook.

Kyrie Irving scored a career-high 26 points in just his ninth NBA game, leading Cleveland to a road win in Phoenix.  The Rookie of the Year candidate made 11 of his 17 shot attempts while dishing out six assists, grabbing three boards and collecting two steals.

Irving scored 12 straight points for the Cavs during one stretch in the second quarter, turning a four-point deficit into a six-point lead.  The Cavs led the rest of the way.

“He just went to work,” Cavs head Byron Scott said.  “He had some open shots he knocked down, some great drives to the basket he finished and I think everyone else started to feed off that.”

Two of Kyrie’s 26 came on the NBA’s top play of the night… (Gerald Henderson checked in at No. 6)

2009 Duke All-American Gerald Henderson had a strong finish at the rim in the Garden last night when he converted a powerful fast-break dunk.  The slam was among SportsCenter’s Top 10 Plays of the Day, checking in at No. 10.  Gerald had 14 points, 4 boards and 3 assists in a loss to the Knicks.  Here’s the dunk: