Irving, Jones Help Cavs Claim NBA Title

OAKLAND, Calif. – Former Duke stars Kyrie Irving and Dahntay Jones became NBA champions on Sunday night as the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Golden State Warriors, 93-89, in Game 7 of the NBA Finals in Oakland.

The title is Cleveland's first major professional sports championship since 1964, when the Cleveland Browns won the NFL Championship Game. The Cavaliers also became the first team in NBA history to overcome a 3-1 Finals deficit to claim the title.

Irving and Jones give Duke five players who have combined to win six NBA titles, joining Jeff Mullins (1975, Golden State), Danny Ferry (2003, San Antonio) and Shane Battier (2012 and 2013, Miami). Combined with Battier's titles with the Heat, Duke players have combined to win NBA championships three times in the last five seasons.

Irving sank the go-ahead three-pointer to put Cleveland up, 92-89, with less than a minute to play, delivering a lead the Cavs would not relinquish.

He finished with 26 points and six rebounds in 43 minutes, knocking down 10-of-23 shots from the floor and 4-of-4 from the free throw line. In the NBA Finals, Irving averaged 27.1 points and 3.9 assists while shooting .405 from three-point range and .939 from the line.

Irving played in 53 regular season games in 2015-16 after rehabbing a knee injury suffered in the 2015 Finals, averaging 19.6 points, 3.0 rebounds and 4.7 assists to again help the Cavs attain the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference.

He averaged 17.5 points in 2010-11, his lone season at Duke, before being taken first overall in the NBA Draft. In 2014, Irving was named USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year after claiming MVP honors at the FIBA World Cup in leading the U.S. to the gold medal.

Jones was signed by Cleveland prior to the 2015-16 regular season finale. He saw action in 14 games during the Cavs' playoff run, including five Finals appearances.

In two seasons of action at Duke from 2002-03, he averaged 14.3 points and 4.8 rebounds, earning first-team All-ACC accolades in 2003.

#GoDuke

.@KyrieIrving with the game winner in Game 7 of the NBA Finals.#GoDuke #TheBrotherhood pic.twitter.com/fV9LBrrnEt
— Duke M. Basketball (@Duke_MBB) June 20, 2016

.@kyrieirving. LEGENDARY shot. NBA champion.#DukeintheNBA #NBAFinals https://t.co/02eelpuBO3
— Duke Basketball (@dukeblueplanet) June 20, 2016

TROPHIES 🏆🏆🏆 https://t.co/lD5jnZnFcv
— Duke Athletics (@Duke_ATHLETICS) June 20, 2016

Congrats to @KingJames, @KyrieIrving & the entire Cleveland Cavs organization on an impressive come from behind championship series victory
— grant hill (@realgranthill33) June 20, 2016

.@KingJames & @KyrieIrving take over in Game 7 as the @cavs win their first NBA championship in franchise history. pic.twitter.com/98Y6GeflAy
— NBA TV (@NBATV) June 20, 2016

Kyrie Irving & LeBron James share the moment as NBA champions! #ThisIsWhyWePlay 🏆 https://t.co/Kjxa6zUzy4
— NBA (@NBA) June 20, 2016

MUST-WATCH: @KyrieIrving with step-back three game winner over @StephenCurry30 #NBAFinals https://t.co/FiJLzdXMHK pic.twitter.com/YQJWtsJLib
— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) June 20, 2016

Kyrie Irving & the @cavs make @NBAHistory! pic.twitter.com/3Ejfgy75nR
— NBA (@NBA) June 20, 2016

Kyrie Irving. Activated. https://t.co/nI7Z3Ts7Gc
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 20, 2016

Congrats @KingJames @KyrieIrving and the rest of the @cavs unbelievable series. Well deserved #champs #enjoy
— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) June 20, 2016

VICTORY!! 🏆Congrats @KyrieIrving #NBAFinals #BeGREAT #GoDuke
— Ken Jeong (@kenjeong) June 20, 2016

Congrats to @KyrieIrving and @dahntay1 on the NBA title! #Dukefamily #TheBrotherhood #dukebasketball
— Jeff Capel (@jeffcapel) June 20, 2016

Congrats to @KyrieIrving & @cavs on the @nba title! Awesome to see a guy turn his dreams into reality! pic.twitter.com/iQE40mQwOh
— Steve Wojciechowski (@steve_wojo) June 20, 2016

Congrats to THE @DukeU phenom @KyrieIrving. 🙌🏾
— Marcus Stroman (@MStrooo6) June 20, 2016

Awesome interview by @KyrieIrving ! Great dude! He balled!
— Justin Anderson (@JusAnderson1) June 20, 2016

The Greatest Shot in Cleveland Sports History https://t.co/B9TPDIENdy
— CLE Sports Talk (@Cleveland_STC) June 20, 2016

Kyrie Irving (@cavs): 26 points; 27.1 PPG in series (most by LeBron James teammate in NBA Finals series)
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 20, 2016

This is the Social Media reaction to an epic #NBAFinals Game 7. https://t.co/iiIh7WRZ0K
— The Players' Tribune (@PlayersTribune) June 20, 2016

Irving, Jones Help Cavs Claim NBA Title

Related Videos

Duke information