Kyrie does it again, hits game-winning dagger to push Cavs past Warriors in Christmas classic

Kyrie Irving and LeBron James put on a show for the Cleveland crowd on Christmas. (Getty Images)
and LeBron James put on a show for the Cleveland crowd on Christmas. (Getty Images)

The last time the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors squared off, Kyrie Irving hit an unbelievable game-winning shot that stunned the Warriors’ faithful and sent Cavs supporters into hysterics.

With Golden State shooting guard Klay Thompson draped absolutely all over him, the Cavs’ All-Star point guard hit a turnaround fadeaway 13-foot jumper with 3.4 seconds left to give Cleveland a 109-108 win over the Warriors in an instant classic that lived up to every ounce of the pregame hype that attended this meeting of the teams that have played for the past two NBA championships.

The Warriors had one last chance to answer, inbounding after a timeout with 3.4 ticks left. But Durant stumbled on the catch as he turned to dribble, and wound up heading to the deck and heaving a prayer toward the rim that went unanswered:

Despite what looked like a lot of contact, the referees judged that Cavs swingman Richard Jefferson didn’t give Durant enough help in losing his balance to demand a foul call, and the clock ran out on the Dubs, spoiling what had been a brilliant performance for KD in his first game against the Cavs since joining Golden State in the highest-profile move of this past offseason: a direct response by the Warriors to blowing a 3-1 lead to Cleveland in the 2016 NBA Finals.

After struggling mightily through the first three quarters, missing 11 of his 16 shots, Irving caught fire in the deciding stanza. He scored 14 of his 25 points in the fourth, including six in the final…