Kyrie Irving returned to action Sunday, but he didn’t really look like himself during eight (he was limited to just four minutes per quarter) listless minutes in the first half of Cleveland’s game against the Sixers.
He was only 1-of-6 from the field in that time, and that lone field goal came when he found himself cherrypicking following a LeBron steal.
The layup alone wasn’t the type of bucket to ignite a player of Kyrie’s caliber, and a six-month layoff isn’t something you just come back from in one half of basketball.
Fortunately, Kendall Marshall decided to try and take Kyrie in the post early in the third quarter.
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“That kind of got me going,” Irving said after the game. “He tried to iso me on the right wing. That was pretty funny. That was going back to our high school days. I’ve known Kendall for a while now. Him trying to go at me, it was more or less a test.”
A test Kyrie passed because, as you can see in the video above, he exploded for five points in the next two possessions, including a tricky euro-step to the reverse that has to relieve Cavs fans worried about his mobility after yet another return from injury.
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Irving made five of his final seven shots and finished with 12 points, four dimes and two steals in 17 minutes.
“Kind of been a long, long road, but finally getting out there with my teammates was a pleasure,” Irving said after the game.
(ESPN)
