Rookie Kyrie Irving is making the transition from college to the NBA look easy, even though he insists that it isn't.
Drafted No. 1 out of Duke in June, Irving continues to put up big numbers, scoring 25 points and adding seven assists Monday to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 102-94 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats.
"It hasn't been easy," said Irving, who entered the game averaging 17 points and 5.1 assists. "I mean, it's gone pretty well, but it's definitely not easy. The back-to-back games and the travel, I mean, it's not an excuse, but it's something I'm trying to get used to.
"Every single day you try to learn something new. It's not easy, but I'm enjoying this process, and that's the most important thing for me."
Coach Paul Silas of the Bobcats has been impressed, saying Irving is pretty good now but will be "awesome" in a couple of years, after he learns the ins and outs of the NBA game. Irving has scored 45 points in two games against the Bobcats.
"He's going to be terrific," Silas said. "He understands the game. He penetrates to the hoop. He can shoot the basketball."
The Bobcats led 94-93 with less than two minutes to play, but the Cavaliers closed out the game with a 9-0 run that included two key inside baskets from Anderson Varejao, who finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
The Bobcats couldn't hit a shot down the stretch or for much of the second half.
Antawn Jamison added 20 points and seven rebounds for the Cavs, and Omri Casspi played a big role in the second-half comeback, finishing with 14 points and seven rebounds and doing most of his damage in the third quarter.
D.J. Augustin was on fire early for Charlotte, scoring 19 points and handing out six assists in the first half, but he was held to five points in the second half.
The Bobcats (3-11) led 57-46 at halftime after shooting 59.5 percent from the field. Together, Augustin and Charlotte's reserves were a combined 18 of 22 from the field in the half.
However, as hot as the Bobcats were in the first half, they were just as cold in the second, shooting 29.5 percent. The also made only 14 of 26 free throws for the game.
"It was a tough one because we did come out with energy in the first half," said the Bobcats' Gerald Henderson, who had 17 points. "You need to continue that at the start of the third quarter, and we didn't have that great of a third and quarter and that led into the fourth. And we just couldn't come up with the plays."
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