Opening night was a blast, but it failed to provide us with the regular season’s first Poster of the Day. Fortunately, this doesn’t mean the evening was completely devoid of spectacular aerial exploits. As the Heat put it to the Celtics, LeBron James could be found streaking through the lane and rising high above the rim. And, in Cleveland, Tristan Thompson helped Kyrie Irving save the day with three straight jams in a span of less than 70 seconds.
Cleveland led a banged up Washington squad throughout the majority of their home opener. Kyrie Irving and Anderson Varejao were sensational, giving the Wizards problems both inside and out. However, when Byron Scott went to his bench in the third quarter, a 16-point lead was whittled down to 7. Early in the fourth, Cleveland was able to re-establish their double-digit advantage, but the Wizards would come charging back to within one point. The difference was four when the two minute mark arrived, at which point this happened…
And with that, Luke Walton’s -11 was made up for and the Cleveland Cavaliers had given 20,562 fans a reason to go home happy.
For his efforts (well, mostly Kyrie Irving’s efforts, actually), Tristan Thompson receives an honorary Poster of the Day. Hopefully tonight’s nine-game slate will provide us with the real thing.
