At his first opportunity, Kyrie Irving lowered his shoulder and dribbled hard toward the basket, unafraid of injury or other consequences. When he neared the rim, the Cavaliers guard laid in his first basket in more than a week. The concussion was behind him. The rookie was back. Irving scored 22 points in his return after missing three games with a concussion, leading Cleveland to a 98-87 win Wednesday night over the reeling Indiana Pacers, who dropped their fifth straight and played without leading scorer Danny Granger.
