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Cavs welcome Irving back with victory over Sixers
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As Kyrie Irving dressed following his first game in six months, LeBron James popped on some music.
With Chris Brown’s “Picture Me Rollin’” filling the locker room, Irving, James and Iman Shumpert bobbed their heads in unison and did some small dance moves.
Close to full strength, the Cavaliers are grooving again.
Irving scored 12 points and played 17 minutes in his National Basketball Association season debut and James had 23, leading Cleveland to a 108-86 victory on Sunday over the visiting Philadelphia 76ers, who lost their 10th straight and fell to 1-28.
Back on the floor for the first time since breaking his left kneecap in Game 1 of the NBA finals against the Golden State Warriors, Irving showed some rust but that didn’t matter.
“Kind of been a long, long road, but finally getting out there with my teammates was a pleasure,” Irving said, who acknowledged a pre-game ovation from fans with a wave.
“Honestly, for me it was just about getting back when I got the clearance from my doctors, so, whether that be at Christmas or before Christmas, I was going to take their word and trust them.”
The Cavaliers managed to open the season 17-7 without Irving. But Cleveland is more complete with the All-Star point guard running its offense and being a headache for opposing defenses. Now that Irving’s back, the Cavaliers are as healthy as they’ve been since early in the playoffs last season. “We’re almost there,” James said.
Australian guard Matthew Dellavedova made four 3-pointers and added 20 points for the Cavaliers, who improved to 12-1 at home and are eyeing a Christmas Day game against defending champion Golden State.
James didn’t play in the fourth quarter, logging a season-low 25 minutes.
Nerlens Noel had 15 points and 12 rebounds for the brutal Sixers, now 0-17 on the road and on their second double-digit losing streak.
Elsewhere, it was: Heat 116, Trail Blazers 109; Timberwolves 100, Nets 85; Bucks 101, Suns 95; Kings 104, Raptors 94; Hawks 103, Magic 100; and Pelicans 130, Nuggets 125.
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