James, Irving lead Cavaliers to 5th straight victory over Wizards
WASHINGTON - LeBron James scored 34 points, Kyrie Irving took over in the fourth quarter, and the Cleveland Cavaliers survived a second-half charge to beat the injury-ravaged Washington Wizards 121-115 on Wednesday night for their fifth straight victory.
Irving scored 21 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter of just his seventh game of the season, including a run of 10 straight that put the game away. It was his highest scoring output of the season after missing the first 24 games in 2015-16 while rehabbing from a broken kneecap.
The Duke alumnus was a highlight machine on Wednesday, showcasing his sweet handles to the Verizon Center crowd.
James collected 10 rebounds, four assists, and one wicked jam, and J.R. Smith added 25 points on 5-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc.
The Cavaliers took a big lead into the half after outscoring Washington 38-24 in the second quarter.
LBJ (34 pts), Kyrie (32 pts) + JR (25 pts) combined to score 91 points on 60% shooting (36/60 on FG's) in @cavs win: pic.twitter.com/24UFjiPoht
— NBA.com/Stats (@nbastats) January 7, 2016
Garrett Temple led the Wizards with 21 points, and John Wall had 20. Playing without Kris Humphries, DeJuan Blair, and Drew Gooden, Washington lost its second straight game.
Nene returned from a 19-game absence after a calf injury put him on the shelf for the entirety of December. The 6-foot-11 Brazilian chipped in seven points and four rebounds in 12 minutes of action.
- With files from theScore