Written by
The Sports Network
Cleveland, OH (Sports Network) - Kyrie Irving dropped one foul shot through
the basket, then two.
Nothing unusual there, except, with four tenths of a second to play, the first
tied the game and the second won it.
Irving scored 23 points in total to lead all Cavaliers and Cleveland knocked
off the Sacramento Kings, 93-92, in dramatic fashion on Sunday.
Antawn Jamison contributed 21 points and eight rebounds and Tristan Thompson
had a double-double with 15 points to go with 12 boards for Cleveland, which
has won two of its last three.
Isaiah Thomas and Marcus Thornton each had double-doubles of their own, with
Thomas posting 23 points and 11 assists and Thornton adding 21 points and 10
rebounds for the Kings, who have lost five straight.
Down one with 2.9 seconds to play, Irving accepted an inbounds pass at the key
and began driving into the paint for the presumptive final shot. DeMarcus
Cousins, perhaps forgetting that Sacramento was in the penalty, fouled Irving
on the floor and sent him to the charity stripe, where he would sink the
decisive shots.
Cousins had given the Kings their previous edge. Losing 91-90, Cousins took an
inbounds pass, drove underneath the basket and laid in a reverse finger-roll
that fell through the cylinder with 2.9 ticks on the clock.
The frenetic pace in the final seconds mirrored that of the entire game, one
that saw 19 lead changes and 17 ties. The teams exchanged the lead eight times
in the final 6:11 alone.
Prior to that, the Cavaliers appeared to be running away with it. Leading
75-68 to begin the final period, the Cavs scored five of the first seven to
take a 10 point lead, their largest of the game.
The Kings came storming back, however. Paced by two Thomas treys, they scored
10 straight to tie it at 80.
Thomas scored 12 of his points in the first and Sacramento held Cleveland to
36.4 percent shooting in the quarter en route to a 31-27 advantage after one.
Cleveland shot no better in the second frame, but made the most of its free-
throw opportunities, netting 7-of-11 from the line to take a 50-49 halftime
lead.
GAME NOTES:
Thomas' point and assist totals both set career-highs...Cleveland's Omri
Casspi set a career-high in rebounds with 12...The Cavaliers have played two
games on a six-game homestand...Sacramento outscored Cleveland 56-21 in the
paint and 21-13 on fastbreak chances.
The Sports Network