Although the game of LeBron James wasn’t spectacular and Kyrie Irving was marred by injury, the contributions of the Cleveland Cavaliers stars – both sponsored by Nike – along with a strong bench performance, was enough to defeat the Chicago Bulls and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Eastern Conference Finals appearance is the fifth straight for James, and first ever for Irving.
James hit the court Thursday in a Cavaliers-colored player’s edition LeBron 12. The shoe featured a navy blue and yellow upper with maroon highlights and a translucent outsole. Irving also hit the court in a player’s edition of his signature shoe, the Kyrie 1. Irving’s shoe featured a predominantly white upper with a navy swoosh and maroon highlights, with a white, yellow and navy outsole.
Irving left the game and did not return in the second quarter with a knee injury after stepping on teammate Tristan Thompson’s foot. He scored 6 points in 12 minutes of play.
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Although James played 41 minutes on Thursday, his stat line wasn’t as strong as usual. The star forward scored 15 points on 7-of-23 shooting. James dished the ball to his teammates often though, as he racked-up 11 assists.
James and Irving are awaiting the winner of the Atlanta Hawks-Washington Wizards series to see who their Eastern Conference Finals opponent will be. The Hawks and Wizards will face-off Friday, with Atlanta leading the series 3-2.
