Irving’s free throws push Cavs past Kings

Associated Press

CLEVELAND

Kyrie Irving was calm and confident when he stepped to the foul line with 0.4 seconds remaining on the clock Sunday night.

“I imagined myself back in my backyard,” he said. “I felt like it was a routine situation for me. There was a little bit of pressure, but I was prepared for it.”

Irving, looking like a seasoned pro instead of a 19-year-old rookie, hit two clutch free throws to give the Cleveland Cavaliers a 93-92 win over Sacramento that extended the Kings’ losing streak to five games.

The Cavaliers bounced back from Friday night’s embarrassing 111-87 home loss to LeBron James and the Miami Heat, after which Cleveland coach Byron Scott questioned his team’s toughness. While the Cavaliers failed to hold a 10-point lead early in the fourth quarter, they showed some much-needed grit down the stretch in a game that was tied 17 times and featured 19 lead changes.

“We got a little lucky tonight,” Scott said. “That’s all I can say.”

Irving, the No. 1 pick in the draft, won an unexpected duel with Kings rookie point guard Isaiah Thomas, the last pick in the draft. Thomas, making his second NBA start, scored a career-high 23 points and had 11 assists for the Kings.

“He was the No. 1 pick, I was the last pick,” Thomas said. “Why not use that for extra motivation? He’s a great player, so it was a lot of fun.”

Irving’s foul shots came after DeMarcus Cousins’ basket with 2.9 seconds left gave the Kings a 92-91 lead.

Cleveland called timeout to get the ball at midcourt. Irving inbounded to Antawn Jamison, who gave the ball back to the point guard. Irving drove into the lane, where he was fouled by Tyreke Evans.

“Three seconds is a long length of time,” Irving said. “I was going to shoot a jump shot or get to the basket. Luckily, Tyreke fouled me and I got to the free throw line.”

Irving was surprised when Evans reached in.

“Even if they didn’t call a foul, I saw the lane open up a little bit and I was going to go for a layup,” Irving said. “He fouled me. It was a unique situation.”

Jamison scored 21 points for Cleveland.