“Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving was named today as the NBA’s Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for games played in the month of March.
Irving appeared in 15 games in March and averaged 19.9 points on .458 shooting, 5.0 rebounds and 6.7 assists in 32.3 minutes per game. During the month, Irving ranked first in scoring, three-point percentage (.413), free throw percentage (.881) and assists, and finished second in field goal percentage and steals (1.5) among Eastern Conference rookies. Irving scored 20 or more points in eight games (the most 20-point games by a rookie in the month), and shot at least .500 from the field six times. Irving also averaged 7.4 points per fourth quarter in the month, which was the most among all Eastern Conference rookies. On the season, Irving is averaging 18.9 points, which leads all rookies, on .471 shooting, 4.0 rebounds and 5.7 assists in 31.5 minutes per game.
Kyrie PotM
Against the Nuggets on Mar. 7, Irving scored or assisted on the Cavs final 12 points in the last 2:36 of the game, including making the game-winning layup with 4.0 seconds remaining, in a 100-99 win at Denver. He finished the game with 18 points, a game-high eight assists, five rebounds and three steals in 33 minutes. Irving set a career high in assists with 12, to go along with nine points, six rebounds and three steals against the Thunder on Mar. 9. In that contest, Irving scored the go-ahead basket in the fourth quarter to help the Cavs to a 96-90 road victory, snapping Oklahoma City’s 14-game home winning streak.
Irving recorded his first career double-double against Atlanta on Mar. 18 with 19 points and 10 assists in 37 minutes. He also finished with 29 points, a career-high nine rebounds, nine assists and three steals at Atlanta on Mar. 21, becoming the first rookie this season to reach totals of at least 29 points, nine rebounds and nine assists. On Mar. 30 against the Bucks, the 6-3 point guard scored a game-high 29 points and added five assists in 32 minutes, while also shooting a perfect 6-6 on three-pointers, becoming the first rookie in the NBA to make at least six three-pointers without a miss since Stephen Curry of Golden State on Jan. 5, 2010.”
Kyrie Irving was named today as the NBA’s Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for games played in the month of February.
Irving played in 10 games during February and averaged 19.3 points on .422 shooting, 3.8 rebounds and 5.6 assists in 35.3 minutes per game. During the month, he ranked 1st in scoring, three-point percentage, free throw percentage and assists among Eastern Conference rookies. Irving scored 20 or more points in six of 10 games (the most 20-point games by a rookie in the month) and shot at least .500 from the field four times in games played in February. Irving also averaged 6.8 points per fourth quarter in the month, which was the most among all Eastern Conference rookies.
RotM
For the month, Irving shot 41-43 (.953) from the free throw line and has currently made 31 consecutive free throws. His .953 free throw percentage is the highest by a rookie in a month since Chauncey Billups set an NBA rookie record by going 41 for 41 in March 1998 (minimum 40 free throw attempts).
Irving notched a game-high tying 23 points, including 5-5 from the foul line, in 39 minutes against Sacramento on Feb. 19. Trailing by one with 2.9 seconds remaining, Irving knocked down two free throws to win the game. Irving scored 25 points on 8-15 (.533) shooting to go along with eight assists in 39 minutes of work against the Pistons on Feb. 21. In the fourth quarter, Irving scored 17 points on 6-9 (.667) shooting, including 3-3 from three-point range. The 6-foot-3 rookie set a career high in assists with 11, with only two turnovers against the Hornets on Feb. 22.
Kyrie played absolutely lights out on Friday during the rookie-sophomore Rising Stars Game.
Irving was a perfect 8 for 8 from beyond the arc and finished with 34 points, helping Team Chuck beat Team Shaq 146-133 in the Rising Stars Challenge on Friday.
Irving said he couldn’t remember being so hot from the field.
“No, it’s never occurred in my career,” he said. “You know, it’s kind of unfortunate that it comes in the All-Star game. These stats don’t carry over into the season. But at the end of the day, it was still fun to get out there with those talented guys. So it was a great experience.”
Tristan Thompson also played fantastic and scored 20 points to lead Team Shaq.
Winning the Rookie/Sophomore (0r just the rookie game) is become a bit of a tradition for the Cavs. Boobie and Big Z have also won the award.
Kyrie also participated in the skills challenge and struggled a bit, coming in 6th.
CLEVELAND, OH – February 1, 2012 – Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving was named today as the NBA’s Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for games played in the months of December and January.
Irving averaged 18.1 points on .511 shooting, 3.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists in 28.8 minutes per game. During the month, he ranked 1st in scoring, field goal percentage, three-point percentage, free throw percentage and assists among Eastern Conference rookies. Irving scored 20 or more points in 10 of 20 games and shot at least .500 from the field 12 times in games played in December and January.
Irving scored 20 points on 8-10 (.800) shooting and added three rebounds and six assists (zero turnovers) in a 115-101 win over Charlotte on Jan. 3. At Phoenix on Jan 12, a 101-90 Cavs win, Irving scored a game-high 26 points on 11-17 (.647) shooting and added three rebounds, six assists and two steals in 28 minutes. Irving dished out a career-high tying seven assists to go along with 25 points on 9-16 (.563) shooting and four rebounds in a 102-94 win over the Charlotte Bobcats on Jan. 16.
The 6-foot-3 rookie scored a career-high 32 points on 12-20 (.600) shooting and added six rebounds and two steals in 31 minutes against the Nets on Jan. 27. In that game, he scored 21 points in the fourth quarter (including 17 in the final three minutes of the game) becoming the first rookie to score at least 21 points in the fourth quarter of a game since Marcus Williams of New Jersey scored 21 points in the fourth quarter on November 24, 2006. He became the first player to score 17 or more points in the final three minutes of the game since Vince Carter scored 18 points in the last three minutes for the Nets against Chicago on April 11, 2006. Against Boston on Jan. 29, Irving made the game-winning shot with 2.6 seconds left to beat the Celtics 88-87. In that game, he finished with a game-high 23 points, four rebounds and a game-high six assists in 33 minutes.
Other nominees for Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month were Detroit’s Brandon Knight, Miami’s Norris Cole and New Jersey’s MarShon Brooks.
| dcass | 
April 4, 2012 3:40 pm | 
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