TORONTO _ Kyrie Irving knew what time it was.
With 6:38 remaining in the fourth quarter as Serge Ibaka completed an and-one to give the Toronto Raptors a one-point lead, the Cavaliers guard knew what was required. He knew a week of rest was on the line, valuable to him, LeBron James and the rest of his teammates.
With the Cavs leading the Eastern Conference semifinal series 3-0, Irving knew a sweep would be vital to their chances to repeat as NBA champions.
"Winning time," is what Irving called it.
Irving scored 11 consecutive points, starting a 14-2 surge by the Cavs that put away the Raptors 109-102 Sunday. The Cavs will await the winner of the Boston Celtics-Washington Wizards series, tied 2-2, in the Eastern Conference finals, which won't open until at least May 15. It will start on May 17 if the Celtics-Wizards series goes seven games.
Irving finished with 27 points, 18 in the second half, along with nine assists. While he shot 10-of-24 from the field, 2-of-6 from 3-point range, he hit 3-of-6 shots in the fourth quarter, 1-of-2 from beyond the arc.
"We needed that spark," James said of Irving. "We just wanted to try and get defensive stops while he was in the zone he was in, and we were able to do that."
James, who totaled 35 points, added nine in the fourth quarter, including a 3-pointer with 2:54 to go that put the Cavs up 106-95. But he shared the spotlight with Irving as "Mr. Fourth Quarter" came through.
"I expect him to score every time he touches the ball," J.R. Smith said of Irving. "I've said this time and time to our guys _ he's the best offensive player I've ever seen. There's no part of his game on the offensive end that he doesn't have. He can post up, he can finish, he can shoot free throws, shoot the 3, pull up off the dribble, catch and shoot, create for teammates, he's got it all."
Kevin Love appreciated how Irving turned it on at the right moment.
"That's what he does _ he gets into a good groove and it's tough to stop," Love said. "Then you send a couple guys at him, he's off balance and force him into tough shots, when he's in the zone like that he's very tough to stop. He's a pure scorer."
When asked what happened in the fourth quarter, Irving said, "Just understanding the magnitude of the game, what was at stake. A lot of our offense was on Bron's shoulders and he had been playing I think at least 16 straight minutes or 18 straight minutes. It was winning time for the both of us and we understood that.
"Getting to the basket and just catching it a little closer to the basket at the elbow, iso'ing me at the elbow as well as running a double-screen on the weak side opened up a lot of opportunities."
On two of his layups, Irving drove past Cory Joseph, who started for the injured Kyle Lowry for the second consecutive game. Irving started the surge with a 3-pointer from his favorite spot on the right wing.
"It's not prototypical for a right-hand dominant guy to be stepping back right. You don't really see it often, especially not just a step-back, but a side-step," Irving said of his spot. "For me, it's just an incredible shot because I'm already lined up to the rim and my elbow's already pointed. So when I get it to kinda that area where it's on my hip, it's just almost a straight shot. It's almost undefendable for me, no matter who's guarding me. And then it opens up opportunities for me to get to my right hand if they crowd me.
"Just playing the game the right way. But also realizing that so many more moves that I can do out of that and set up my guy in order to get to the rim or make a play for my teammate. Or shoot a step-back 3."
With nine assists Sunday, Irving averaged 8.5 for the series. While Lue appreciates that, especially if that's what Irving must do depending on the way the opponent is guarding him, that's not what Lue wants foremost.
"I need him to be aggressive, be a scorer, attack," Lue said. "If they're going to be up and putting two on the ball, then he has to be able to make the right play and the right pass, which he's been doing this series."
In their three seasons together, James has come to trust Irving in big moments.
"You guys know from the time I came back three years ago that he's one of the guys that I've singled out. You can see the talent. And once you put the talent and the experience and then the mind, you really start to see what he's capable of doing," James said. "And I sensed that. It's just when I got here, he was 22 years old and had been a part of some losing seasons.
"Did he build some bad habits? I don't know. I wasn't part of the franchise at that point and time. But the habits that he's built over the last three years have put him in a position where you can always rely on him, no matter what's going on."
