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Cavs' Irving: Wizards thought they won after LeBron fouled out

USA Today Sports

While it didn't end the way they were hoping it would, it's tough to blame the Washington Wizards for liking their chances on Monday after watching LeBron James pick up his sixth foul.

"I saw the Wizards' bench and as well as everyone that was on the floor when Bron got his sixth foul, I think that they kind of thought that the game was going to take a turn," Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving told Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com.

Related: Watch: Irving's game-winner looks incredibly familiar

Despite the odds being in their favor, the Wizards failed to stop the Cavaliers' potent offense in overtime, as Cleveland dropped 20 points in the extra frame - highlighted by Irving's dagger three with under a minute remaining.

While the Cavs would prefer that LeBron stay out of foul trouble going forward, they say it's a good sign that they were able to beat one of the East's top squads without the four-time MVP.

"Like I said before, even with our record, obviously it's not great when LeBron sits but we expect him to be with us in the playoffs and moving forward but there might be moments where he gets in foul trouble or one of us gets in foul trouble and guys need to step up and I think you saw that tonight," Kevin Love said.

"LeBron fouling out the first 30 seconds of overtime and for us to still win this game against a good, quality team, it means a lot and hopefully we can continue to build on this," coach Tyronn Lue said.

LeBron finished the contest with 32 points and a career-high 17 assists before fouling out just 47 seconds into overtime.

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