Cavaliers show no hints of inexperience as they take Game 1 from Celtics

The Cleveland Cavaliers' pairing of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love showed no hints of inexperience in their playoff debut.

Prior to tip-off, LeBron James expressed concern over the Cavaliers' collective lack of playoff experience. But Love and Irving put James's concerns to rest with strong performances on Sunday. Love posted a double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds, while Irving poured in a game-high 30 points to pace Cleveland to a 113-100 victory over the Boston Celtics.

James chipped in with 20 points, six rebounds and seven assists to round out the Cavaliers' top-heavy attack. 

"They were phenomenal," James said of Love and Irving. "Those two guys, they succeeded for the first time being in the postseason."

Turning Point

The Cavaliers led for much of the game, but the Celtics managed to stay within striking distance by keeping their deficit manageable. They managed to cut Cleveland's lead to just 10 points with four minutes left in the fourth.

But that's when James took matters into his own hands. James made a driving layup and found Love spotting up from deep on the possession thereafter. The Cavaliers then went on to hold the Celtics to just two points over the final three minutes for the decisive victory.

Star Performer

It was a collective effort on the part of Cleveland's Big Three to capture the win. The Cavaliers' trio were consistently able to create easy looks by exploiting the Celtics' lack of interior defense. That led to layups and free throws in isolation scenarios and wide-open triples on kickouts against help defense. The Cavaliers shot 33 free-throws and hit 13 triples.

However, it was Irving who shone the brightest, as the 22-year-old lead guard scored 30 points on 11-of-21 shooting, including 20 first-half points. Irving nailed five threes and got to the basket at will.

"We are the Big 3," Irving said. "We have really great players on this team, but we set the tone."

Highlight Reel

Irving makes Turner dance before nailing buzzer-beater

LeBron James swats Thomas

Series at a Glance

Game 1: Cavaliers 113, Celtics 100
Game 2: Tuesday, April 21, 7 p.m. ET
Game 3: Thursday, April 23, 7 p.m. ET
Game 4: Sunday, April 26, 1 p.m. ET
Game 5*: TBD 
Game 6*: TBD
Game 7*: TBD