It took only three quarters Monday night for LeBron James to register his first triple-double of the season—it counts as the 40th of his Hall of Fame career.
Kyrie Irving added a game-high 32 points for the Cleveland Cavaliers, who blew out the reeling Sacramento Kings 120-100.
LeBron James gets his first triple-double of the season with 21 points, 10 boards and 10 assists as the third quarter reaches a close.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) February 9, 2016
A season-high 32 for Kyrie.
A triple-double for Bron.
A #CavsCNY win for #TheLand.BOX: https://t.co/lZM7DMheCo pic.twitter.com/xtzapAAifF
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) February 9, 2016
The Kings (21-31) have lost four in a row, and remain an absolute disaster.
Rondo: "With optional shootarounds it’s tough. … When 3 or 4 guys show up for shootaround this morning, how can you expect to win.?"
— Jason Jones (@mr_jasonjones) February 9, 2016
Per the Akron Beacon Journal:
Over his last seven games, Kyrie Irving has scored 28, 21, 25, 26, 19, 29 and now 32 points. His five 3-pointers Monday were a season high and his 13 baskets were one shy of a season high. Better yet, he’s shooting 54 percent over that stretch, which dates back to Jan. 29. […] Bottom line: Irving is coming along. The last part of his game to return following his knee surgery seems to be his 3-point shooting, which makes sense in a way. Tyronn Lue reiterated after this one he just needs to regain more strength in his legs, which the team believes is why he entered Monday shooting under 26 percent from deep. That’s why his 5-of-8 performance Monday was encouraging.
“Last few games just felt really good,” Irving said. His hot streak seems to coincide with Lue’s instructions for him to attack, attack, attack. It feels odd to say that to a point guard, but Lue’s only focus is to get Irving back to being Kyrie Irving. […] Irving conceded the other night he’s sometimes struggling to find the line of when to attack and when to set up teammates, but he matched a career high with 12 assists Monday.
It was another excellent day for J.R. Smith, who remained red-hot from 3-point range. Smith has made six 3-pointers in consecutive games and has totaled 17 3-pointers in his last three games. He has played so well he earned praise from George Karl despite the two parting ways on rocky terms in Denver. They still don’t speak. […] “Wow, is he playing great,” Karl said. “I think he’s done a good job of taking out the bad. It seems like LeBron (James) has calmed him down and brought solid and simple to his game.”
