Cleveland Cavaliers: 5 Most Memorable Moments from 2012-13 Season

The Cavaliers may have finished the 2012-13 campaign with only 24 wins, but nonetheless Cleveland fans should be proud of what their team accomplished this season. The roster was battered by injuries throughout a vast majority of the year, and that meant many different players had to step up in key situations all season long.

Although many of the games did not turn out how fans wanted, they could truly look out on the court almost every night and see the heart and passion that this team played with.

From Kyrie Irving taking the next step to super-stardom, to Dion Waiters showing that he was worthy of a high draft pick and Tristan Thompson emerging as a force in the post, the Cavaliers' season was exciting and has given fans of Cleveland hope for the future.

The Cavaliers showed this year that they may only be a few pieces away from being playoff contenders once again.

While there are many memorable moments that each Cavalier fan has from this season, here are five moments that none of us will ever forget.

5) All-Star Weekend

While it did not have to do with the Cavaliers' regular season, All-Star Weekend was very special for Cleveland fans.

The Cavaliers sent four players: Kyrie Irving, Dion Waiters, Tristan Thompson and Tyler Zeller to the festivities in Houston. All four participated in the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge on Friday night, which was the most players that any team had in the game.

One of the highlights of the night was an outrageous dribbling act by Irving that left Pistons guard Brandon Knight on the ground with his ankles broken.

Irving went on to win the Foot Locker Three-Point Contest on Saturday night, and also was exceptional in the All-Star Game on Sunday night.

Overall it was a memorable weekend for Cleveland fans, and it showed how bright the future is for this young organization.

4) Heat vs Cavs

Outside of Heat fans themselves, there are very few people who like the Miami Heat. After everything that happened with LeBron James and Cleveland though, the vast majority of Cavaliers fans hate the Miami Heat. Every time the two teams meet up, it's personal.

Although Cavaliers fans may want to forget the four games against Miami this season, it is nearly impossible to. The way the Cavs battled the defending champions, LeBron James and the best team in the NBA cannot be overlooked.

Cleveland could have been crushed just like almost every other team that played Miami this year was, but they refused to be pushed around by the biggest of Big Threes.

The Cavaliers lost all four games to Miami this year by a combined 10 points. Their largest margin of defeat was only four points. In the third game against Miami, they even held a 27-point lead in the third quarter before LeBron rallied the Heat back.

The way the Cavaliers lost to Miami left fans absolutely heartbroken, but it also made them proud. The Cavaliers went out and played hard for their fans, because this team knows how badly these fans want to beat the Heat.

3) Kyrie's Career Night

Kyrie Irving exploded for a career high 41 points at Madison Square Garden on December 15th against the New York Knicks.

The Cavaliers were only 4-19 coming into the game, and the Knicks were still undefeated at home at the time, but Irving led a supreme effort against New York that ultimately came up just one point short.

Kyrie scored 17 of his 41 points in the final five minutes and 30 seconds of the game, including hitting two huge three pointers in the game's final possessions to keep Cleveland breathing.

Fans will forever remember Kyrie wearing his black mask and knocking down shot after shot in The Garden to keep Cleveland's upset bid alive.

2) Stunning the Thunder

If he had not already earned the respect of every fan, player and coach in the NBA, Kyrie certainly earned it on February 2 at home against the Thunder.

With just under three minutes to go in the game the Cavaliers trailed Oklahoma City 101-100 when Irving took the game over.

Pouring in bucket after bucket, Irving scored 13 points in the final three minutes of the game to lead the Cavaliers to a huge upset at home against Kevin Durant and the Thunder.

The shot fans will never forget is when Irving buried a late three right in the face of Russell Westbrook to help seal up the victory.

1) Mr. Fourth Quarter

Kyrie Irving, also known as Uncle Drew, officially took on another name when he buried a long cold-blooded three-pointer with 0.7 seconds left to beat the Toronto Raptors on January 26th.

Irving finished the game with 32 points for the Cavaliers, marking the third straight outing in which he had scored at least 30 points in a game.

The ridiculously long three-pointer to beat Toronto along with the game against the Thunder just a few weeks later is definitely where fans saw Kyrie Irving playing the best basketball of his young career.

This stretch of play by Irving and the Cavaliers showed the entire NBA why the future is so bright in Cleveland, and that while they only had 24 wins on the year, it was a very productive season for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The shot also earned Kyrie the alter ego: Mr. Fourth Quarter.