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Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James: It was phenomenal to team with Kyrie Irving again

Cleveland Cavaliers small forward LeBron James says "it was phenomenal" to team up with Kyrie Irving again during the 2018 NBA All-Star Game.
LeBron James (right) says "it felt phenomenal" to team up with Boston Celtics point guard Kyrie Irving (left) again after they spent three years together with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

CLEVELAND -- The partnership between LeBron James and Kyrie Irving did not end on the greatest of terms, as the latter requested a trade from the Cleveland Cavaliers and was eventually dealt to the Boston Celtics in the offseason.

But when James and Irving shared the floor together at the 2018 NBA All-Star Game at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, it was as if they had not missed a beat, as Irving assisted on James’ game-winning basket in the final minute.

“It was phenomenal,” James said of playing alongside Irving again.

“It was phenomenal. Anytime you're able to get back and play with one of your old teammates, and as great as he is, we all know that. The flashiness, the ball handling, the ability to shoot, it was just great to get back on the floor with him. It was a great moment, for sure.”

LeBron James (right) says "it felt phenomenal" to team up with Boston Celtics point guard Kyrie Irving (left) again after they spent three years together with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

As Team LeBron stormed their way back to a 148-145 win over Team Stephen at Staples Center in Los Angeles, it was Irving who set up James for the game-winning basket.

James inbounded the ball to point guard Russell Westbrook in the backcourt and the reigning NBA MVP stormed his way into the lane before getting a short pass to Irving. Under the basket after catching the ball, Irving slipped a pass to James, who finished off the left-handed finger roll for the go-ahead hoop.

“I played with him a few times,” Irving said. “I cut back door, Russ was driving, I saw the opportunity. I saw, before Russ even passed to me, LeBron was going to circle to the rim, and is one of the best finishers at the rim.

“It was kind of an easy drop-off to give us that lead. We've done it plenty of times before, so nothing new.”

Russ ➡️ Kyrie ➡️ LeBron

Slick passing. pic.twitter.com/hJJSCKUjdA

— ESPN (@espn) February 19, 2018

James scored a game-high 29 points, pulled down 10 rebounds, handed out eight assists and stole a pass over his 31 minutes of action. James converted 12 of his 17 attempts from the field and four of his eight tries from three-point range.

“Russ being so dynamic in his ability to break down defenses, we wanted to get it to him,” James said. “Russ was able to make one move, they switched, and Russ kind of was left up in the air. He was able to hit Kyrie on the baseline, and playing with Kyrie for so many games, you know if I just make myself available, he would find me.

“He found me and I was able to make the left-hand lay-up over Draymond. So you have plays, but then, sometimes, you have to improvise when it breaks down, and we were able to do that. That's the beauty of being on the floor with a bunch of All-Stars. It doesn't always work that way, but when you have All-Stars with guys with high IQ and guys that want to play the game and play the game the right way, it works out for the best.”

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