Man, Kyrie Irving was in his bag in the third quarter against the Knicks on Tuesday.
Arguably the game's best ballhandler along with back-to-back NBA MVP Stephen Curry, the Cavaliers point guard showed why his offensive arsenal is second to none as he helped the Cavs pull away from the Knicks in the third quarter of their 117-88 win to open their 2016-17 campaign at Quicken Loans Arena.
It was a sight to behold.
The Duke product had it all working, from the perimeter to the post and all points between, as he torched New York for 19 of his game-high 29 points in the period. He connected on 8 of 10 attempts from the field as the Cavs outscored the Knicks by 15 in the quarter.
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Seeing is believing and the footage of Irving destroying defenders shows exactly some think the champion and Olympic gold medalist could be a darkhorse MVP candidate this season.
1. It was a darn shame what he did to Brandon Jennings with this up-and-under move.
.@KyrieIrving doing work in the 3Q! 🔥🔥 #KiaTipOff16 https://t.co/5YfrIAw1JJ
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) October 26, 2016
Kyrie's footwork might be #1 now that Kobe is gone
— 73-9 and they LIED (@CuffsTheLegend) October 26, 2016
2. Then he nearly took the Knicks' whole team to school with a signature dribble combination and finesse finish.
Kyrie Clinic Part 2 https://t.co/ZfMbgYbpkc
— BBALLBREAKDOWN (@bballbreakdown) October 26, 2016
My word.
Ummm, is anyone watching the show that Kyrie is putting on tonight? Even @KingJames, on the bench, just threw his hands up like DAMN! Insane
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) October 26, 2016
3. He also had the outside jumper going. Just ask 7-3 Knicks center Kristaps Porzingis.
I felt good about this KP defense on Kyrie.. Up until the point the swish was deafening https://t.co/coyhEGQge5
— BBALLBREAKDOWN (@bballbreakdown) October 26, 2016
The coldest commentary on that one probably came from Twitter legend @dragonflyjonez.
Kyrie is a dog. Begged for the ball when KP switched on him. Not cuz he wanted to drive on him.Cuz he wanted to shoot over him. From 3. Nuts
— Larry Beyince (@DragonflyJonez) October 26, 2016
And, oh, yeah, LeBron James opened the season with a triple-double, going for 19 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds before leaving the game for good with 6:44 to play.