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Kyrie Irving scores 30 in playoff debut to lead Cavs past Celtics in Game 1

On Saturday, Anthony Davis showed out for a national television audience and put a serious scare into the Golden State Warriors in his postseason debut. On Sunday, it was Kyrie Irving's turn to make a blockbuster premiere.

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It shouldn't have surprised any of us that the 23-year-old point guard would look awfully comfortable in the playoff spotlight; after all, we're talking about a former No. 1 overall pick and a three-time All-Star who won Most Valuable Player honors at the 2014 NBA All-Star Game and the 2014 FIBA World Cup. But Irving made quick work any lingering doubts about the way he'd handle his first taste of postseason play.

Kyrie made his first five 3-point attempts, scoring 20 points in 21 first-half minutes against an overmatched Boston Celtics defense. He'd finish with 30 points on 11-for-21 shooting — becoming the 11th player in the past 20 years to score 30 or more in his first career playoff game — to lead the Cavs to a 113-100 win, giving the Cavs a 1-0 lead over Brad Stevens' C's in their best-of-seven first-round Eastern Conference playoff series.

LeBron James added 20 points on 8-for-18 shooting, seven assists, six rebounds, two steals and a block in a game-high 42 minutes of work in his first playoff game in a Cavaliers jersey since May 13, 2010, when the Celtics eliminated the Cavs in six games on their way to the NBA Finals, helping prompt James' exit to South Florida to join the Miami Heat in free agency. Back then, the Celtics threw Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo at James. Now, the jerseys are the same, but the folks filling them — Evan Turner, Tyler Zeller, Marcus Smart and Avery Bradley — aren't.

The difference in quality between Stevens' squad of strivers and the wrecking crew that LeBron has helmed over the past three months bore out over the course of Sunday's opening contest, which began with the well-prepared Celtics playing Cleveland even up through the first six minutes — a significant win for Boston, whose starting five got outscored by 7.2 points per 100 possessions during the regular season; by comparison, Cleveland's starters blew the doors off the opposition to the tune of 19.3 points-per-100 this season.

With Zeller and Brandon Bass making shots early, and J.R. Smith taking and missing more than his fair share while LeBron, Irving and fellow postseason first-timer Kevin Love feeling their way into the contest, the Celtics had cracked a window. They'd throw it open a few minutes later, tilting the game with the play of their second unit, led by scoring maestro Isaiah Thomas. The pint-sized point man carved his way through the Cleveland D, working well in the screen-and-roll to create open looks for himself and his bigs, most notably Kelly Olynyk (10 points, 4-for-4 from the field, 2-for-2 from 3 in the first quarter).

With the bigs knocking 'em down and Thomas dealing, Boston held a 31-27 lead after the first quarter, shooting a scorching 57.1 percent from the field while holding Cleveland to 39.1 percent in the frame. But despite his team's strong opening gambit, Stevens could sense trouble brewing.

During his between-quarters interview, the Celtics' respected young coach told ABC's Lisa Salters about watching the Milwaukee Bucks' hot start against the Chicago Bulls on Saturday. Stevens said he remembered thinking that even though the Bucks were tied with the favored Bulls at 22 with four minutes left in the first quarter, they were in hot water, because they hadn't yet weathered a Chicago run; the Bulls later rolled to a 12-point win.

On Sunday, Boston and Cleveland were tied at 22 with 3:19 left in the first quarter.

"We have to defend better," Stevens told Salters, sounding like a man who wasn't quite sure the dam would hold.

Boston continued to push in the second quarter, riding cold Cleveland shooting and continuing to spread the Cavs out defensively, presenting plenty of opportunities for Boston to penetrate and get all the way to the rim. The tide soon changed, though, as the Cavs started to get hot from downtown, James started to impose his will and a Boston offense helmed by point forward Evan Turner just couldn't seem to generate clean looks. Cleveland ripped off a 22-7 run, with the Celtics managing just one made field goal and three turnovers during that six-minute stretch.

Irving was in the middle of it all, using his remarkable handle to stymie Boston defenders and his sensational shot-making to bail out even busted-up possessions. While he was carrying the Cleveland offense, Boston's primary playmaker, the 5-foot-9 Thomas, had a hard time replicating his first-quarter success, thanks in large part to active and committed perimeter defense from Cavaliers reserve Iman Shumpert, who defended Thomas well when the two teams faced off back in March in a game Cleveland won in a rout.

As Thomas struggled to get off and get Boston good looks in the second half, Cleveland built its lead. After a dismal 2-for-11 start to the game, Love began to make his presence felt on the interior, working hard in the post and on the offensive glass against Boston's bigs, fighting through contact to extend possessions and get himself to the line. With Irving cooking, James orchestrating, Love grinding and reserve big man Tristan Thompson making Boston's live miserable on the glass, the Cavs led by as many as 20.

Boston fought back, though, scoring 14 unanswered points fueled by a mix-and-match lineup led by Thomas, Zeller and reserve forward Jonas Jerebko that got the Celtics back within two possessions late in the third ... only to see Cleveland restore order with a 9-0 run keyed by a pair of big shots from James Jones and a pair of final-minute steals from Shawn Marion to head into the fourth up 15. Boston would never get back within single digits. (Cue up LeBron saying he knew those veteran summer additions would help out come springtime.)

Thomas led the way for Boston with 22 points on 6-for-14 shooting, plus an 8-for-8 mark at the line, to go with 10 assists, five rebounds and five turnovers in 31 1/2 minutes in what was also his playoff debut. He's just the third player in NBA history to go for at least 20, 10 and five in his first career playoff game, joining first-round opponent James and the great Oscar Robertson.

Love made his final three field-goal attempts and finished with a very respectable 19 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and a steal in 33 minutes in his postseason debut. It was his Pepsi pitch partner who was the postgame story, though, even if Celtics coach Stevens felt his team was right in the thick of the action for the bulk of Sunday.

"Kyrie, I thought we defended him really well on a couple of shots that he just hit," Stevens said, according to Cameron Moon of the Northeast Ohio Media Group. "The ones you look at as a coach are not the ones where they go Superman on you. It's the ones where you turn the ball over. The ones that kill you are the offensive rebounds. The superhuman shots do not. We have to be able to bounce back from that."

They'll get another chance to bounce back on Tuesday night. If they hope to steal Game 2, though, they'll need a better showing against the Cavaliers' flamethrowing point man, because if we learned anything Sunday, it's that he's not going to be awed by the adjustment to the playoff atmosphere.

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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at devine@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!

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