Behind LeBron James’ high-flying, and clutch heroics and Kyrie Irving’s bomb in overtime, the Cleveland Cavaliers escaped Dallas with their eighth consecutive victory Tuesday night.
The Cavs also got help from Iman Shumpert, who made several key defensive plays in overtime to seal matters in the thrilling 110-107 win.
Irving says that Shump has “the berst hands” in the L.
Per the Akron Beacon Journal:
The idea of putting a hand in Dirk Nowitzki’s face just seemed silly to Iman Shumpert. Might as well stick out a foot to trip a herd of charging elephants. So Shumpert did what he always does. He relied on film work. He watched the rhythm. He counted the dribbles. Then he took the ball away and ultimately rescued the victory. […] Shumpert’s fast hands saved the Cavs Tuesday every bit as much as Kyrie Irving’s overtime 3-pointer or LeBron James’ trips down the lane. Shumpert’s strips of Nowitzki in regulation and Deron Williams in overtime were crushing blows to a Mavericks team trying to hold on after blowing the Cavs out early. James said last season it was only a matter of time before Shumpert made an All-Defensive team. He certainly helped his cause on this night.
“Best hands in the league,” Irving said of Shumpert. “And the top perimeter defender for us, if not across the league.” […] James started off defending Nowitzki on the Mavs’ final play of regulation, but Shumpert switched onto him after a screen. Nowitzki greeted Shumpert with an elbow to the throat while establishing position at the top of the key. When he caught the ball and turned for the jumper, Shumpert poked it away.
This was Irving’s 10th game back, but (Kevin) Love said Tuesday morning it’s still too early to know how the three stars fit together this season or if it’s any better than last year, particularly for him. […] “They’re one of the very, very, very best teams in the league. There’s no doubt about that,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. “As they continue to go, they’ll become more and more familiar with each other. They have a lot of hard games coming up and that’s something that brings teams together.”
