CLEVELAND, Ohio – The last time Larry Nance Jr. an action like that was here in Cleveland. That was when James Harden, then with the Houston Rockets, came to town and threw in 55 points. For Cavaliers head coach JB Bickerstaff, Collin recorded Sexton’s progress with late points, making him shy back to the days when he was at Harden in Houston. Taurean Prince thought of Kyrie Irving’s brilliant debut in Brooklyn in which he scored 50.
Cleveland was the epicenter of the NBA on Wednesday night. All eyes were on the nets. It was Irving’s first game in two weeks. The debut of the league’s latest Big Three.
But on a court in which some of the NBA’s brightest stars have appeared – Harden, Irving and Kevin Durant – no one shines brighter than Sexton.
It was his arrival – from the ambiguity he played for the basement dweller Cavs and in the national spotlight as the cornerstone of the league’s most pleasant surprise.
‘I do not pay enough attention to what is going on to know the perception around him in the league. But I know I’m watching him and I do not know what year it’s for me – 17 or 18 – it’s not normal. He is not an ordinary NBA player. He is a dynamic scorer, ”Bickerstaff told cleveland.com after the 147-135 victory with double overtime. ‘We need to win more matches and enable him to close more matches where people respect what he can do and what he is capable of. This is our responsibility and this is our goal. The more he does it when the moments are most important, I think people will gain more respect for him. ”
No better moment than Wednesday.
In his first game back after an absence of five games due to a sprained ankle. The Cavs have a chance to crawl back to the .500 point after hitting an injury-filled rough patch. On the heels of Kevin Porter Jr., who is considered by many to be the most naturally gifted of Cleveland’s young core, is banned for unprofessionalism. Against the Nets, the NBA’s fascinating super team and one of the title favorites. Against Irving, the guest of honor of the night, who has an extensive catalog of crucial shots and whose 2017 trade question eventually led to the arrival of Sexton – the two are always connected.
‘I’m in Cleveland, I’m wearing no. 2 and I wear Kyries. It will be linked to each other. I have to take it. “I can not control what people say, but what I do do,” Sexton admitted. “It was good to face him tonight. I definitely accepted the challenge, and I knew it would not be easy. Just the simple fact that it’s Kyrie, he’s coming to you every night, ready to go and tonight was good. ‘
This is an understatement. Try remarkable. Unforgettable. One of the best individual performances in franchise history. A 42-point masterpiece that included 20 straight for the Cavs during a scorching stretch, 22 combined points in both overtime and 15 of the team’s 20 in double OT, while Sexton threw shots from across the floor.
He became the second Cavs player to score 20 in a row in the last two decades, joining LeBron James.
While Sexton’s three-point bombs still left Brooklyn buried, Irving could not help but laugh and smile. Durant shook his head. Sexton’s teammates got ballistic.
“He was just on fire tonight. He was unconscious. He was out of his mind. He made all the shots. It was beautiful to watch, “said Cedi Osman, who scored 25 points and stabilized the attack early while Sexton shook off the rust. ‘You can see, there’s a lot of difference with Collin’s game. Obviously he was (well) last year and even better this year. ”
“It got to a point where I was talking rubbish before the shot even went in,” Jarrett Allen said after his Cavs debut against his old team. “I did not know he had any of this in him. I heard he would leave Boston once, but that was a different level. ‘
“Trust is one thing the child does not lack … and with good reason,” Nance said.
With the game tied at the end of the regulation after an Irving setback, the Cavs called a time-out. There was no doubt that Bickerstaff wanted. He put the ball in Sexton’s hands, gave Isaac Okoro and Osman some movement and let Sexton go one on one against Irving. Only Sexton dribbled the ball off his leg – a costly deception at an inconvenient time that gave the Nets a chance for the winner.
Sexton did not struggle or look at the bench – a bad habit early in his career. He goes back to the defense and signs what looks like an offense against the Irving. The play was overturned following Steve Nash’s challenge, and the two teams gathered in midfield for a spring ball that killed the rest of the clock.
Sexton still had some rough possessions during overtime – missed drivers, layups and 3s – but his tip-in with 10.7 seconds cut Brooklyn’s lead to one.
“Young bull, he really saved me on the play,” Osman said of his air ball. ‘It was also a hell of a play. He kept us in the game. ”
Then Sexton glanced a cold-blooded dagger into Irving’s face with 1.2 left to level the game. The bucket, which looked like Irving’s late gamers with the Cavs, sent the compelling showdown into a second OT.
That’s when Sexton erupted.
“He was exhausted,” Bickerstaff said, laughing. “Somehow he wanted to shoot himself. You become a much better coach if you have guys who can do it. Do not overdo it or cover it up. Just let Collin be Collin and take us home. He could do it. ”
Even with some of Sexton’s obstacles, Bickerstaff never thought about getting away from him, not with the Nets switching everything up.
“Where we are now offensive with the bodies we have, he should be a focal point,” Bickerstaff said. “He can beat his husband. He can put pressure on the defense. They know which play you are going to run, and they know which set you are going to run. It was almost like a playoff game. The playoffs come down to being able to beat your man? We are confident that Collin can beat his husband. It was literally just putting him in a position where he could play a one-on-one basketball game. ‘
So, what did Bickerstaff think at that point?
“The old Doug Collins cut – give the ball to Michael (Jordan) and get the f out of the way,” Bickerstaff explained. “Just give him space to do his thing.”
Sexton did so, preventing the Cavs from squandering a 14-point lead, and answering every shot that Brooklyn’s trio made and still proving his doubters wrong.
In his rookie year, Sexton fought off his own teammates’ biting remarks about his readiness and unfounded place, which according to some came because of his concept slot. He arrived with a reputation as a weak shooter. The draft pick the Cavs should have traded to get another player now winning to chase a title in LeBron’s final season. Then came incessant chatter about his assistance and his “natural” position.
When Sexton ended the 2019-20 season with a raging points storm that put him in the company of some of the best players of the conference, it supposedly did not count, as it comes at the end of the season the opponent did not care because ‘someone had to score in a bad team’, or because the Cavs were not good enough to win games, which made the hollow numbers – none of the factors were Sexton’s fault.
At this point, critics have little to say.
“For whatever reason, and I was not here early, there’s this story about Collin,” Bickerstaff told cleveland.com. “We are incredibly happy to have him. I look at his ability to put the ball in the basket and there are not many guys in our league who can do what he does. There are 20 guys of about 480, or whatever the number is who can do what he does. Then there is another smaller group of guys who can do what he does in pressure-filled moments.
‘The hard part for Collin is, and it’s just because of the circumstances that he’s had a lot of those moments because of the record we’ ve had in the past. He has the ability to excel at those moments. This is not for everyone. It’s just not. There are dynamic scorers and good players. But not everyone can do what he does in those moments. None of us are perfect, are we? But Collin does not deserve the s – they say about him. ‘
Very few players are capable of shooting and shooting against KT, Kyrie and Harden. Sexton did. Not many can turn Irving’s much-anticipated return to Cleveland, just the second time since the destruction of the Cavaliers’ championship hopes, into a footnote. Sexton did.
This is not new. He has been doing this since December last year. Wednesday it happened to be the night when Sexton finally forced everyone to get up and take notice.
And change their flawed perception.
–
New Cavs face masks for sale: Here you can buy Cleveland Cavaliers-themed face masks for coronavirus protection, including a single mask ($ 14.99) and a 3-pack ($ 24.99). All NBA proceeds are donated to charity.
More coverage from Cavaliers
Sexton returns after absence of 5 games; Garland not ready yet
Tribute video planned for ‘franchise legend’ Kyrie Irving
Cavaliers’ Kevin Porter Jr., venture failed, they now make the right move: Pluto
Irving is expected to play in Cleveland for the first time since 2017
Are the Cavs worthy of attention? What about Drummond vs Daugherty? Hi, Terry
Jarrett Allen feels wanted in Cleveland, believes he fits well with the growing team
Cavaliers ‘hope for the best’ for Porter Jr. but to go on ‘must happen’
Cavaliers passes over from the troubled Porter Jr.
How likely is a trade with Drummond before the deadline? Hey, Chris!