Celtics vs. Cavaliers: Game 1 Score and Twitter Reaction from 2015 NBA Playoffs

Cleveland Cavaliers star Kyrie Irving certainly didn't look like a player making his NBA playoff debut on Sunday.

Irving lit up the Boston Celtics for a game-high 30 points at Quicken Loans Arena, leading the Cavs to a 113-100 victory and a 1-0 advantage in their opening-round postseason series.    

ESPN Stats & Info shared a notable anecdote about Irving's tremendous scoring display as well as Kevin Love's performance:

The dynamic 23-year-old point guard was able to get into the paint against Boston's big men and also devastated the Celtics from beyond the arc, connecting on his first five attempts from deep. Cleveland drained 13 of 31 three-point attempts, while Boston shot eight of 22 from downtown.

Michael Lee of The Washington Post wasn't expecting anything but the best from Irving in his playoff debut:

After the Celtics' hot shooting earned them a 31-27 advantage through the first quarter, Irving helped the Cavs take charge. The hosts scored 35 in the second quarter, and Irving capped the onslaught off in fitting fashion:

ESPN's Skip Bayless weighed in on how Irving's performance helped take pressure off Cleveland superstar LeBron James:

Dave McMenamin of ESPN reported what James had to say about Irving prior to Sunday's Game 1:

Those words seemed to ring true when Irving embraced the spotlight and scrutiny and delivered a huge maiden postseason outing.

Marla Ridenour of the Akron Beacon Journal felt Irving was putting forth extraordinary effort in all areas of his game:

Let's not get confused—a huge reason Irving is making his first appearance in the playoffs is because James elected to return to Northeast Ohio. James played well in his own right, putting up 20 points, six rebounds and a team-high seven assists.

The NBA on ESPN showed a highlight-reel play James made to help Cleveland get some separation:

Even more notable was James' latest milestone for his distributing prowess—which allowed him to pass another legend who wore the No. 23, per ESPN Stats & Info:

Since the Celtics had the league's fifth-fastest pace during the regular season, per NBA.com, it wasn't too surprising to see them jump out to a lead, and the same goes for their 14-0 third-quarter run. Cavs guard J.R. Smith got into foul trouble, which tested Cleveland's depth on the perimeter.

Bleacher Report's Ethan J. Skolnick expressed surprise at the shot that allowed the home team to stop the bleeding:

Cleveland's superior talent eventually shone through, however. James Jones also hit a buzzer-beating three to end the third quarter, causing the Cavs' lead to swell to 91-76.

Kevin Love struggled shooting the ball initially, but he contributed in other ways to have a stellar first playoff game of his own with 19 points, 12 rebounds and four assists. Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group noticed Love played with a sense of urgency:

Fans shouldn't be too alarmed at Cleveland's slow start to Game 1. It's unlikely James will allow his team to lose more than one game in the series, especially if Irving continues to play as he did Sunday. After the game, LeBron commented on his team's performance, and gave them a grade, via Bleacher Report's Uninterrupted: 

ESPN Cleveland's Aaron Goldhammer gave context to the significance of the Cavs' win:

SportsCenter referenced the disparity between James' immense experience compared to the youthful Celtics:

Boston coach Brad Stevens has done remarkably well in just getting the Celtics a playoff berth. But their uptempo style of play depends too much on precise perimeter shooting for it to be a consistently winning formula against this particular Cavs squad.

Game 2 is slated for Tuesday, and Boston needs to find other sources of offensive firepower other than the bench spark provided by Isaiah Thomas, who had 22 points on Sunday. That may not be feasible, and Thomas is the only one who can create anywhere near the level James and Irving can.

The remainder of this series should be high-scoring due to the Celtics' brand of basketball. It should also nurture Irving's playoff evolution and foster continued monster numbers for Cleveland's wunderkind.