Shams Charania of the Vertical:
“For one night, Kyrie Irving showcased the youth and the skill set that could form the best sidekick LeBron James has ever had. Right place, right time. Irving is healthy now, nearing his prime years, and there’s no slowing him down. Those 41 points silenced the Oracle Arena crowd and any Golden State runs.”
“What an incredible advertisement for hero ball. I’m not sure what’s crazier: that Kyrie dropped 41 points on a mere 24 shots, or that anyone would suggest that his time in Cleveland may be coming to an end as recently as eight days ago. We’ve seen Kyrie go off like this before, but his Game 5 performance felt revelatory — one LeBron James said “will go down in the all-time greatest performances in Finals history.” Down 3–1 in the Finals to the 73-win Warriors, facing a hostile Oracle crowd — this is when max-contract players need to step up. And Kyrie finally did that on Monday night.”
Dave McMenamin writing for ESPN:
“You’ve got a guy like this who is very special,” James said. “It’s probably one of the greatest performances I’ve ever seen live.”
Asked to characterize Irving’s demeanor, James said, “Just calm. Just calm for 48 minutes. Obviously he played 40 minutes, but even in the eight minutes that he was sitting down, he was just calm.”
It’s a trait that will help Cleveland face the overwhelming task of becoming the first team in Finals history to come back from a 3-1 deficit to win it all, breaking an 0-for-32 mark while also becoming the first team in 52 years to win one for The Land.
It’s unprecedented stuff that the Cavs are after. Kind of like the night Irving had in Game 5.
James was asked if he had ever seen anything before quite like Irving’s performance.
“Nobody has,” he replied.
Compared to expectations, Irving definitely has Curry beat on offense. He’s been much more careful with the ball and made a few more difficult shots. Their disparate on- and off-court efficiencies can’t be overlooked. Irving’s certainly had the more memorable single-game performance, too.
Marc Berman writing for the New York Post:
It’s hard for any Cleveland critic to dare suggest LeBron James doesn’t have a superstar sidekick after he and Kyrie Irving did their 41-41 act to destroy Oracle Arena’s party Monday night in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.
Irving’s postseason has been glorious. His first full Finals could still turn out that way, too, if the Cavaliers become the first club to rally from a 3-1 deficit in the championship-deciding series.
Zach Harper for Cbssports.com writes:
The Warriors tried a lot of different defenders on Irving and they all seemed to get cooked. Part of that was the absence of Draymond Green, and certainly the loss of Andrew Bogut early in the second half. But Irving was still taking it to Golden State when it played good defense on him. Klay Thompson couldn’t stop him. Stephen Curry got outplayed by him. Harrison Barnes couldn’t use his size to bother him. And even the rare moments Shaun Livingston and Andre Iguodala got a turn, they couldn’t get Irving off his game either.
“Kyrie was great tonight and had my number,” Thompson said after the game. “Hit some tough shots, but there’s nothing you can do about it. Sometimes you put your hand up and it just goes in.”
Those tough shots were probably the most demoralizing part of the night for the Warriors defense.
Kyrie Irving went off, in every sense of the word. He shot effeciently and made big impact plays when they needed it most. His baskets were more timely then LeBron’s 41 with a higher degree of difficulty. Golden State played off LeBron and dared him to shoot, which he torched them. The Warrior’s defense was all over Irving. Irving was hot in the first half of game 4 and he was on fire in all of game 5. Golden State needs to do something from preventing him from taking over the game offensively. Luckily for the Warriors, Draymond Green will be back, and that will help. This game doesn’t give Cleveland the upper hand for the series, but for a night it shows us how good, Irving’s good is, and that good–is incredible. I don’t feel like he will be able to match this output again, but for a night he was untouchable. He truly saved Cleveland for a night. They live to die another day.