Kyrie on LeBron alley-oop: ‘I wanted to see something great’

It was indisputably the highlight of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 120-90 Game 3 blowout of the Golden State Warriors — a remarkable display of athleticism by LeBron James to corral a little-too-high pass from Kyrie Irving and flush an alley-oop that pushed his team’s lead to 20 with 2:44 remaining in the third quarter.

Whether he meant to put a little extra on the lob to James or not, Irving sure acted as if he intended to make James work for it during a postgame press conference that served as a sigh of relief by the Cavs.

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Back in April, Cleveland’s J.R. Smith told ESPN.com’s Dave McMenamin, “People call me the worst best lob thrower on the team, but I purposely do it because I want to see what he can do. And I believe he looks at it like that too, because he looks at it as a challenge.” This off-the-backboard job is Exhibit A:

So, with James and Smith by his side, Irving was asked if he too intentionally throws bad lobs to LeBron.

“I wanted to see something great,” Irving, who posted 30 points and eight assists, told reporters. “I threw it very, very — you know, some people may say it’s a bad pass, but I wanted to see something great, and for him to do that, it was awesome. It was awesome.”

And James capped his response with the simplest of explanations for the defining play of a series-saving victory: “I knew he was going to throw it up there, and I had to go get it. He threw it; I had to go get it.”

There you have it. If you’re ever on a fast break with LeBron James, throw the ball where only he could possibly get it, and wait for greatness. If only we could all make the remarkable sound so unremarkable.

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Ben Rohrbach is a contributor for Ball Don’t Lie and Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @brohrbach