Jamison, Irving rally Cavs rally past Detroit

Associated Press

CLEVELAND

Less than halfway through his rookie season in the NBA, Kyrie Irving keeps adding to his reputation as a clutch player.

The 19-year-old guard scored 17 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter and the Cleveland Cavaliers rallied from a 17-point deficit to beat the Detroit Pistons 101-100 on Tuesday night.

“It’s a good feeling,” said Irving, the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. “I feed off the energy of my teammates and the crowd. When you have the confidence ot your teammates going down the stretch it’s easier to make those plays.”

Irving and Alonzo Gee combined for for 30 of Cleveland’s 35 points in the fourth quarter as the Cavaliers rallied from a 72-55 deficit late in the third period. Although Irving won’t turn 20 until next month, he’s the team’s unquestioned leader.

“Kyrie said he was gonna turn it up, and he did,” said Gee, who scored 13 of his 17 points in the fourth. “He turned it up. He picked it up for us, and were gonna follow him.”

Detroit coach Lawrence Frank had a good handle why his team’s three-game winning streak came to a crashing end.

“Really, two guys dominated for them in the fourth quarter,” he said. “Irving and Gee kicked our tail. They willed it back for them.”

Brandon Knight led the Pistons with 24 points while Greg Monroe had 19 points and 11 rebounds.

Antawn Jamison scored 32 points for Cleveland, but Irving, whose two free throws with 0.4 seconds remaining gave the Cavaliers a one-point win over Sacramento on Sunday, came through again in the clutch. He hit two 3s that sparked Cleveland’s run and cut the lead to 80-76 early in the fourth period.

“When I hit my first one, it really felt good,” Irving said.

Irving was 2 ofor 6 from the field and commited six turnovers in the first three quarters. He was 6 for 9 and had no turnovers in the final period.