Philippines, 21 Mar 2026
  Home >> News

 


BOXERS

CURRENT CHAMPIONS 

FORMER CHAMPIONS   

RATINGS                       

NEWS           

FORUM        

FIGHT GALLERIES        

RING CARD GIRLS        


 
 
News  


NBA Recap: Irving Explodes for 57, As Cavs Rally to Beat Spurs 128-125 in Overtime


PhilBoxing.com




AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas - All Star Kyrie Irving exploded for a career high 57 points on 20 for 32 field goal shooting and a perfect 7 for 7 from the rainbow territory to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers in a come-from-behind victory over their arch-nemesis and defending champions San Antonio Spurs 128-125 in overtime Thursday night.

For the Spurs, the heart-breaking game was reminiscent of 2013 Finals Game 6 against Miami. Leonard missed two freethrows with 4.3 seconds remaining in regulation that could have sealed the victory for the defending champions. Kyrie Irving then made a game-tying three pointer at the buzzer to send the game into overtime.

Irving topped his previous season high 55 points against Portland last January 28, scoring the most points in the NBA this season. He scored the last 9 points for the Cavs in regulation and added 11 more in the extra inning. He was also perfect in ten tries at the charity stripe.

Tony Parker led the Spurs with a team high 31 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 1 steal. Danny Green added 24 points, including five threes, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals and 4 blocks, while Tim Duncan had another double-double performance with 18 points and 11 boards, with 8 assists, 1 steal and 4 blocks.

Manu Ginobili, who was a game time decision after missing their previous game due to gastroenteritis, played only 9 minutes and 45 seconds and went scoreless for the Spurs. Expressing his thoughts about the game he said, "I can appreciate that we played well. That's, you know? I really don't care if that's a great game or not. I care if, you know, if we got better if we did good and I think for most part of the game, we played a solid game. Just a few mistakes here and there, but it is impossible not to make mistakes in a game of basketball, but they were just incredible."

When asked whether he was out of gas, the former sixth man of the year awardee explained, "No, I wasn't better yet. I thought I was in a better shape, but then I had a headache. (My) stomach was not right and I couldn't do anything better than my teammates so I wasn't really ready to compete at this high level."


The author at the Cavs-Spurs game in San Antonio, TX.

Apart from those two missed freethrows, Kawhi Leonard was impressive in this game, scoring 24 points on a 9 for 14 field goal shooting to go along with 9 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal and 1 block. Leonard battled with LeBron James on both ends of the court. At one point early in the 2nd quarter, Leonard took James one-on-one, overpowering him on the block before releasing a 5-foot one-handed jumper, then hounded James in the ensuing play, forcing him to commit an airbag. But in this game, the 4-time league MVP did what the reigning Finals MVP couldn't - seal the victory. James finished with 31 points on a 10 for 20 field goal shooting, including the back-breaking 3 pointer, pushing the lead to 5 with 32 seconds left in overtime. He also grabbed 5 boards, dished out 7 dimes, and had 2 steals and a block.

"We just try to regain ... composure, including myself, which we did," James said. "We had to get some timely shots and some timely stops."

Cleveland fortified its hold of the 2nd spot in the Eastern Conference team standings with a 42-25 win-loss record, while the Spurs dropped to 40-24 for the 6th spot in the Western Conference.

Cleveland 128- K. Irving 57, L. James 31, T. Thompson 12, T. Mosgov 10, K. Love 8, J. Smith 6, I. Shumpert, 2, J. Jones 2, M. Dellavedova 0
San Antonio 125 - T. Parker 31, K. Leonard 24, D. Green 24, T. Duncan 18, T. Splitter 9, B. Diaw 9, P. Mills 6, M. Belinelli 4, M. Ginobili 0, M. Bonner 0, C. Joseph 0


Click here to view a list of other articles written by Reylan Loberternos.


Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:

  • WEIGHTS, IMAGES, RUNNING ORDER AND THE LAST WORDS AHEAD OF ADAMES VS. WILLIAMS IN ORLANDO
    , Sat, 21 Mar 2026
  • COPPER BOX ARENA FIGHT NIGHT: WEIGH-IN RESULTS AND RUNNING ORDER CONFIRMED AS LIDDARD AND DENNY FACE-OFF FOR FINAL TIME
    , Sat, 21 Mar 2026
  • Weights From ‘Martinez vs. Aleem’ Event from the NOS Event Center in San Bernardino and Broadcast live on ProBoxTV
    , Sat, 21 Mar 2026
  • Jordan Orozco Training Camp Notes
    , Sat, 21 Mar 2026
  • Towns vs. Bordin for PAT Belt; De Barbo, Nancholas, Samiei in Supporting Bouts at Brico Santig's Exciting Show in Pattaya Beach, Thailand
    By Carlos Costa, , Fri, 20 Mar 2026
  • YOENIS TELLEZ TRAINING CAMP QUOTES
    , Fri, 20 Mar 2026
  • Lebron James ties the most game played in NBA history
    By Gabriel F. Cordero, , Fri, 20 Mar 2026
  • Pichay supports GM Antonio's Australian chess circuit campaign
    By Marlon Bernardino, , Fri, 20 Mar 2026
  • LIDDARD-DENNY PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES IN FULL: EVERYTHING THAT WAS SAID AHEAD OF SATURDAY'S COPPER BOX FIGHT NIGHT
    , Fri, 20 Mar 2026
  • Round 12 with Mauricio Sulaiman: The WBC Continues the Fight for the Good of the Sport
    By Mauricio Sulaimán, , Fri, 20 Mar 2026
  • AMMO: ADAMES FIGHT WILL BE EXPLOSIVE
    , Fri, 20 Mar 2026
  • Carlos De Leon Training Camp Notes
    , Fri, 20 Mar 2026
  • The Highly Anticipated  Box Fan Expo Invitational 2026 Returns with A  USA Boxing Amateur Show
    , Fri, 20 Mar 2026
  • Placibe, Sales tops Sprint Challenge
    By Lito delos Reyes, , Fri, 20 Mar 2026
  • Lester Martinez vs. Immanuwel Aleem Los Angeles Media Day Quotes
    , Thu, 19 Mar 2026
  • MAPUA, PSKAI R-10 to play in Best of Best
    By Lito delos Reyes, , Thu, 19 Mar 2026
  • IIEE Metro East dominates the 4th D’ Engineers’ Darts Cup 2026
    By Marlon Bernardino, , Thu, 19 Mar 2026
  • LIDDARD: WHY I'M RUNNING MATCHROOM HALF MARATHON AFTER TITLE DEFENCE AGAINST DENNY
    , Thu, 19 Mar 2026
  • Press Conference Notes: DAZN and Top Rank Sign Multi-Year Rights Deal
    , Thu, 19 Mar 2026
  • DAZN and Top Rank announce a landmark multi-year media rights deal bringing elite events and a storied archive to DAZN users worldwide
    , Thu, 19 Mar 2026
  • Sampson Boxing Signs Top Junior Lightweight Contender Charly Suarez to a Promotional Contract
    , Thu, 19 Mar 2026
  • THE PAST WEEK IN ACTION 17 MARCH 2026: Collazo Stops Haro; Fundora KO Ruiz; Barboza Outpoints Sims; Cacace UD Dickens
    By Eric Armit, , Wed, 18 Mar 2026
  • Tapales Near Peak Form Ahead of April 3 Tokyo Showdown with Oguni
    , Wed, 18 Mar 2026
  • MILLER AND PERO CLASH IN HEAVYWEIGHT SHOWDOWN IN LAS VEGAS ON APRIL 25
    , Wed, 18 Mar 2026
  • Middleweight Championship Battle Between (C) Khamzat Chimaev and (#3) Sean Strickland Headlines UFC® 328 at Prudential Center Live on Paramount+
    , Wed, 18 Mar 2026




  •  



     
    PhilBoxing.com has been created to support every aspiring
    Filipino boxer and the Philippine boxing scene in general.
    Please send comments to feedback@philboxing.com


    PRIVATE POLICY | LEGAL DISCLAIMER
    developed and maintained by dong secuya
    © 2026 philboxing.com.