Kyrie Irving Becoming the Sidekick LeBron James Needs and Tuesday NBA Takeaways

It's been exactly two weeks since LeBron James returned from an extended layoff, and the Cleveland Cavaliers have been positively clobbering the competition during that prosperous fortnight.

In the Cavaliers' seventh straight win, they squashed the host Detroit Pistons, 103-95, Tuesday night, thanks to 38 points from Kyrie Irving and 32 points from King James. NBA TV noted the win:

According to ESPN Stats and Info, James and Irving did most of the heavy lifting for a Cavaliers offense that shot just 41.9 percent from the field and 26.5 percent from three: 

Cleveland is now 25-12 with James healthy this season, including 7-1 since Jan. 13.

Not only are the Cavaliers making strides on defense—holding five straight opponents under 100 points—but the franchise cornerstones are jibing in conjunction with the team's rise in the Eastern Conference standings. 

Here's a look at how James and Irving have each performed since the former's return against the Phoenix Suns: 

Player	PPG	APG	RPG	FG%
LeBron James	30.5	6.4	6.8	50.6
Kyrie Irving	22.6	5.5	2.9	51.9

Throughout that stretch, you'll notice James has operated as more of a primary distributor. According to NBA.com, James' assist percentage has hovered at 31.5 over the past two weeks, nearly nine points higher than Irving's.

If that trend feels familiar, that's because it is. During his final season with the Miami Heat, James topped the team's distributive charts by assisting on 31.1 percent of its buckets. 

On the most basic level, points seem to flow at a steadier rate when James works primarily on the ball. Namely, the significance of his ability to penetrate can't be overstated, as it continually draws the attention of defenders and frees up perimeter shooters like Irving to thrive from deep. 

"That's the luxury of playing with a great player like LeBron," Irving said following Tuesday's win, according to The Associated Press (via ESPN.com) "When he's on the floor, you know there are going to be things opened up for the rest of you. Tonight, we had a lot of open shots, and we got enough of them to go down."

CBS Sports NBA tweeted some on-court photos of Irving and James:

Not only did Irving account for six of Cleveland's nine made treys on Tuesday, but he ranks tops on the Cavaliers in conversion rate from beyond the arc during the magical eight-game span at a mark of 51.2.  

Outside of James and Irving's two-man brilliance, head coach David Blatt's recent five-man unit of choice has been purely dominant in a small sample to date. 

According to NBA.com, James, Irving, Kevin Love, J.R. Smith and Timofey Mozgov have recorded a net rating of plus-29.3 points per 100 possessions, dropping offensive and defensive ratings of 119.5 and 90.2, respectively.  

Those numbers are bound to regress toward the mean a bit as the sample expands, but the role each member of that lineup has seamlessly filled has been uncanny. To that, Blatt owes serious thanks to general manager David Griffin. 

And with Cleveland now just 3.5 games back of the fourth-seeded Chicago Bulls with three sub-.500 opponents on deck over their next four games, the potential exists for the Cavaliers' run to continue for the foreseeable future. 

Around the Association

It's True—the Warriors Can Lose at Home 

After rattling off a franchise-record 19 straight home wins, the Golden State Warriors finally proved to be a fallible unit, dropping a 113-111 overtime thriller to the Bulls at Oracle Arena.

Derrick Rose emerged as Chicago's savior, drilling the game-winning bucket with seven seconds remaining in the extra session. But those isolated heroics don't tell the whole story.  

In 43 minutes—the most he'd played since April 15, 2012—Rose finished with 30 points on 13-of-33 shooting, 11 turnovers and just one assist. According to Basketball-Reference.com, Rose became the first point guard in the last 30 years to commit at least 11 turnovers while totaling one assist or fewer. 

In fact, with Jimmy Butler out due to an illness, the Bulls' starting backcourt was out-assisted by its frontcourt, 14-2. 

Pau Gasol finished with 18 points, 16 rebounds, eight dimes and four blocks, while Joakim Noah racked up 18 points, 15 boards and six assists. 

Chicago was also aided by Golden State's uncharacteristically poor three-point shooting (27.3 percent). Specifically, the Warriors missed all 13 of their attempts from distance over the course of the second half and overtime. 

Klay Thompson matched Rose with a game-high 30 points, while Stephen Curry pitched in 21 and nine helpers.

Curry also dazzled with a no-look pass to David Lee, who was superb with 24 points on 10-of-17 shooting, nine rebounds and six assists in 30 minutes off the bench: 

Zach Randolph Would Retroactively Like Your All-Star Consideration 

NBA coaches filed their reserve selections for Feb. 15's All-Star Game Tuesday afternoon, but a few of them may want those ballots back to scratch Zach Randolph's name into a backup frontcourt spot. 

With Mike Conley (wrist) and Tony Allen (ankle) absent, Randolph took over late, scoring 16 of his 22 points in the second half while pulling down 10 boards as the Memphis Grizzlies obliterated the Dallas Mavericks, 109-90. 

Randolph absolutely peppered Tyson Chandler from the right wing, too, nailing seven jumpers from mid-range. Yahoo Sports' Dan Devine discussed Randolph's dominance:

According to Grizzlies PR's Ross Wooden, Randolph's stretch of consecutive double-doubles reached new heights: 

With Randolph in the lineup this season, the Grizzlies are 29-7. When he's out, they're 4-5. 

If it wasn't clear already, it should be now: Memphis represents the biggest threat to Golden State's dominance atop the Western Conference. 

Wizards Mount Major Comeback at Staples

Andrew D. Bernstein/Getty Images

John Wall fell one rebound shy of a triple-double (21 points, 13 assists, nine rebounds), and the Washington Wizards captured a sweep of the season series against the Los Angeles Lakers for just the third time in franchise history with a 98-92 victory. 

Despite trailing by 11 points at halftime, Washington trounced L.A., 52-35, over the game's final 24 minutes. The Lakers' league-worst losing streak has now reached nine games. ESPN Stats and Info shared a noteworthy Lakers stat:  

Four of the Wizards' five starters finished in double figures, including Otto Porter Jr., who dropped 12 points in place of the injured Paul Pierce (toe). 

Wayne Ellington poured in a career-high 28 points—including 16 in the first half—with Nick Young sidelined due to a sprained ankle, while rookie Jordan Clarkson dropped a career-high 18 points on 8-of-18 shooting for the Lakers. 

Clarkson has now scored in double figures in two of his last three games after doing so just twice all season prior to Jan. 23. 

Miami Fails to Fill a Wade-Shaped Void

The Miami Heat fell three games behind the Milwaukee Bucks as Jason Kidd's upstart squad knocked off the defending Eastern Conference champions, 109-102. 

However, Dwyane Wade's departure in the third quarter overshadowed the loss. Miami's official Twitter account confirmed the 33-year-old suffered a right hamstring injury: 

According to Bleacher Report's Ethan J. Skolnick, Wade's left hamstring also nagged him recently: 

Although the Heat outscored the Bucks by four in the third frame, they found it difficult to replace Wade's production in the fourth quarter when Milwaukee finished with a 27-20 edge.

According to Heat.com's Couper Moorhead, Wade has been used on 39.5 percent of Miami's possessions in the final period this season. 

Milwaukee's bench was positively brilliant, totaling 54 points (compared to 13 for Miami's second unit) as four reserves finished in double figures. Jerryd Bayless was particularly prolific, tallying 15 points, seven assists and four rebounds in just 22 minutes. According to Basketball-Reference.com, Bayless became the first player this season to compile those numbers in 22 minutes or fewer. 

Hassan Whiteside posted a double-double consisting of 16 points and a career-high 16 boards, but he did the bulk of his damage in garbage time. He also failed to block a shot in the loss. 

Ready, Set, Dunk

Credit: Bleacher Report

Following a formal NBA announcement Tuesday evening, we now know Orlando Magic guard Victor Oladipo, Milwaukee Bucks swingman Giannis Antetokounmpo, Brooklyn Nets forward Mason Plumlee and Minnesota Timberwolves rookie sky-walker Zach LaVine will be participating in the 2015 Slam Dunk Contest Feb. 14 at Barclays Center. 

According to Yahoo Sports' Marc J. Spears, the NBA has reverted back to the classic format that will allow players to express more creativity in a setting that allows spectators to admire each individual dunk: 

Get in the mood for some high-flying fun with this hype reel from NBA TV: