Kyrie Irving upstages LeBron James in 'water bottle challenge'

NEW YORK, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- Most basketball fans will remember 'the shot' as Kyrie Irving's greatest mark of brilliance.

But Irving's Cleveland Cavaliers teammates watched him nail a different feat while lounging on the bench during a 126-94 throttling of the New York Knicks Wednesday.

In the fourth quarter of the blowout, cameras caught Irving, LeBron James, Richard Jefferson, and other Cavaliers tossing a water bottle into the air and trying to get it to land right-side-up.

After several failed attempts, Irving landed a toss perfectly, as the water bottle stood still on the baseline.

"It's just a social media craze, man," Irving told Jesse Spector of FanRag Sports. "Man, the water bottle, if you land it, you're just, like, a legend. So, I was just trying to follow in the kids' footsteps, and really just put my mark on the water bottle challenge."

Irving also dominated on the court, scoring a game-high 28 points, with six assists.

"I always have fun," James said, according to ESPN. "The game of basketball is always fun for me. Obviously, when you lose a game, you feel a certain way about it, you think about what you could have done better. But the game of basketball is fun, and for me, once the game -- I start showing up and I am not having fun no more, then I won't be sitting talking to you guys postgame."

The East-leading Cavaliers [15-5] face the Miami Heat at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Quicken Loans Arena. The Knicks [12-10] face the Sacramento Kings at 10:30 p.m. Friday at the Golden 1 Center.