Irving again star of Cav win

LESS THAN halfway through his rookie season in the NBA, Kyrie Irving keeps adding to his reputation as a clutch player.

The 19-year-old guard scored 17 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter and the Cleveland Cavaliers rallied from a 17-point deficit to beat the visiting Detroit Pistons, 101-100, last night.

"It's a good feeling," said Irving, the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. "I feed off the energy of my teammates and the crowd. When you have the confidence of your teammates going down the stretch it's easier to make those plays."

Irving and Alonzo Gee combined for 30 of Cleveland's 35 points in the fourth quarter as the Cavaliers rallied from a 72-55 deficit late in the third period. Although Irving won't turn 20 until next month, he's the team's unquestioned leader.

"Kyrie said he was gonna turn it up, and he did," said Gee, who scored 13 of his 17 points in the fourth. "He turned it up. He picked it up for us, and were gonna follow him."

Detroit coach Lawrence Frank had a good handle why his team's three-game winning streak came to a crashing end.

"Really, two guys dominated for them in the fourth quarter," he said. "Irving and Gee kicked our tail. They willed it back for them."

Antawn Jamison scored 32 points for Cleveland, but Irving, whose two free throws with 0.4 seconds remaining gave the Cavaliers a one-point win over Sacramento on Sunday, came through again in the clutch.

"He was the first overall pick in the draft for a reason," Frank said. "He's an outstanding young player."

The Pistons had won seven of nine coming in and were trying to win three straight road games for the first time since 2009.

In other games

 * At Miami, Dwyane Wade scored 30 points and added 10 assists, Mario Chalmers and Chris Bosh each scored 20 points and the NBA-leading Heat stretched its winning streak to seven games with a 120-108 win over the Sacramento Kings. LeBron James scored 18 points. The Kings' Tyreke Evans finished with 21 points and 10 assists.

* At Indianapolis, Roy Hibbert had a career-high 30 points and 13 rebounds to lead Indiana past New Orleans, 117-108, in overtime. Paul George scored 20 points and Darren Collison had 18 points and eight rebounds for the Pacers, winners of three straight.

* At Portland, San Antonio's Tim Duncan and Tony Parker were given the night off, and the result was a 137-97 loss to the Trail Blazers that ended the Spurs' 11-game winning streak.

Noteworthy * 

New Jersey forward Shawne Williams will undergo surgery to remove a bone fragment from his left foot. A timetable for his return will be determined following the surgery.