With the first round of the NBA playoffs in the books, a handful of former Blue Devils remain alive in the search for an NBA championship. But nothing comes easy as the stakes rise and the games get tighter. We take a look at the performance of some of Duke's finest thus far in the second-round of the playoffs
Kyrie Irving, Cleveland Cavaliers: In a series headlined by Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls and LeBron James of the Cavaliers, Irving has made his impact felt despite his team's 2-1 deficit after three games. Irving registered a game-high 30 points Monday in the Cavaliers 99-92 defeat in Game 1 of the series. The fourth-year point guard—who averaged 21.7 points, 5.2 assists and 3.2 rebounds per contest during the regular season—converted all nine of his attempts from the charity stripe, but struggled from beyond the arc—where he hit just one of his five 3-pointers.
With Kevin Love out for the series due to injury and J.R. Smith unavailable for the first two games due to a suspension, Irving stepped up two days later and combined with an unstoppable James for a combined 54 points in a dominating 106-91 home victory against the Bulls. Seemingly back in control of the series, Irving could not replicate his strong performance in a pivotal Game 3 road loss to the Bulls Friday in which he finished with just 11 points on 3-of-13 shooting and failed to record an assist. The Cavaliers will need Irving to get back to playing at a high level if they hope to oust the Bulls and keep their championship dreams alive.
J.J. Redick, Los Angeles Clippers: After dispatching the defending champions San Antonio Spurs, the Clippers started their Western Conference semifinals matchup against the Houston Rockets with a 117-101 road victory Monday. Although Blake Griffin stole the spotlight in the first contest with a dazzling triple-double, Redick had a crucial role in the Clippers’ victory, recording 17 points including three triples. The 6-foot-4 small guard also added two rebounds and two assists in his 41 minutes of action.
Two days later, the Rockets took advantage of Clippers star Chris Paul's absence to knot the series up with a 115-109 win. In the Game 2 loss, Redick notched 12 points, but struggled mightily with foul trouble and missed key portions of the contest. Yet, Redick made sure his mark was felt in Game 3 when he put up a career playoff-high 31 points in a 124-99 beatdown of the Rockets. The former Duke star was the team's leading scorer and connected on five triples to help lead the way for his team. Redick has scored in double figures in all but one of his nine postseason games this season and will need to continue to help the Clippers with his deadly perimeter stroke.
Austin Rivers, Los Angeles Clippers: With Paul sitting out the first two games due to a hamstring injury, Austin Rivers was thrust into the starting lineup to begin the series against the Rockets. Despite needing some time to break out, the 6-foot-4 small guard notched a postseason-high 17 points in the first game of the series. He shot 4-of-6 from beyond the arc and scored five of his team's last eight points to will his squad to a Game 1 victory. Rivers—who’s averaging 7.2 points, 1.1 assists and 1.0 rebound per postseason game—scored in double figures again in his team's Game 2 loss two days later, but sent the Internet ablaze after stumbling when the game mattered most.
But Rivers' response to his Game 2 gaffe was a breakout performance that swung the series in his teams' favor in Game 3. The guard recorded a playoff career-high 25 points on 10-of-13 shooting and helped fuel a 20-3 run that helped the Clippers pull away in the second half of their blowout victory. With Rivers offering a viable scoring option and spark off the bench, the Clippers seem poised to advance to the conference finals and keep their hopes of a first NBA championship alive.
Mike Dunleavy, Chicago Bulls: Dunleavy's performance has been an indicator of the Bulls' success thus far in their series against the Cavaliers. In the first game of the series, the 6-foot-9 small forward made an early statement and registered 14 of his team’s 27 first quarter points. The early boost provided a much-needed cushion that the Bulls rode to victory. But in the second clash between the teams, the former Duke standout was held without a three-point basket and finished with just eight points in a 106-91 defeat.
Dunleavy responded with arguably his best performance in his two-year stint with the Bulls in Game 3 when he recorded 16 points and knocked down three of his seven attempts from deep. The forward's hot-shooting came at an opportune time for the Bulls who now hold a 2-1 lead in the best of seven series.
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