CLEVELAND: Not only did coach Tyronn Lue rest his best player Wednesday, but he also challenged the Cavaliers’ two other stars in the process.
While LeBron James rested, Lue placed the burden on Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love to deliver. They did — barely.
Irving scored 33 points and redeemed his turnover with a key steal in the Cavs’ 99-98 victory Wednesday against the Dallas Mavericks, their first win in a game James has rested this season. They were blown out in the previous two games James sat, but this time barely survived after squandering two 20-point leads.
The Cavs never trailed, but their 16-point lead at the start of the fourth quarter became a one-possession game in the final minute. They held on when Irving atoned for a turnover with a steal on the ensuing Mavs possession with 2.3 seconds left. He converted two free throws for a four-point lead. Mavericks guard Deron Williams banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer, but it didn’t matter.
Irving threw the ball away when the Mavericks doubled him with 16 seconds left and the Cavs ahead 97-95. He regained possession when he hooked Dirk Nowitzki and wiggled in front of him for a steal. Nowitzki was forced to foul and Irving converted both free throws.
Love finished with 23 points and 18 rebounds.
“They came back and made a game of it,” Lue said. “We were able to keep fighting, fought through it and won the game.”
Nowitzki scored 20 points for the Mavericks, who have lost six of their last seven. David Lee had 20 points and J.J. Barea scored nine of his 17 in the fourth quarter.
The Mavericks missed their first eight shots of the second quarter and didn’t score until a layup by Dwight Powell cut the Cavs’ lead to 46-30 with 7:11 left in the half. The Cavs quickly pushed the lead to 20, but the Mavericks had the deficit down to 52-49 in less than five minutes.
The Cavs went back to work in the third quarter, rebuilding a 20-point lead when the Mavericks missed their first four shots and turned it over three times. They couldn’t hold that one, either.
With James resting, Lue overlooked Irving’s one assist for the game because he wanted his point guard attacking.
“I told Ky I need him to be aggressive,” Lue said. “I need him to score and his aggressiveness will open his passing. We needed Kevin and Kyrie to step up and score the basketball and that’s what they did tonight.”
Jason Lloyd can be reached at jlloyd@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Cavs blog at www.ohio.com/cavs. Follow him on Twitter www.twitter.com/JasonLloydABJ.