For the Cleveland Cavaliers, two out of the Big Three isn't bad.

Tuesday night, it was too much for the Chicago Bulls.

kyrie irving maillot,A hobbled Kyrie Irving played like a healthy Kyrie Irving, mixing adaptability with a bit of explosion and hitting several big shots to complement a signature LeBron James playoff performance. James and Irving combined for 63 points as the Cavs held on, withstanding a late Bulls rally to win, 106-101, and take a 3-2 lead in their Eastern Conference Semifinal series.

Monday, Irving said tendinitis in his left knee and a strained right foot had left him unable to accelerate or finish at the rim the way he's used to doing. He said he still planned to contribute, but hoped he could just do enough to take some pressure off James.

Tuesday, Irving scored 25 points, dished out five assists and though he was clearly limping at times, he was gliding at others.

"This morning it felt really good," Irving said. "I got out of bed, walking around and I said this was going to be a great day.

"It just came down to mental confidence. I'm not 100 percent but I just had to go out there and play -- knock down shots when I'm open, finish at the rim, see angles a little better when I get in the paint."

Irving clearly wasn't the same player in Games 3 and 4 of the series, and after an MRI revealed the injuries Monday, the All-Star point guard admitted he's been playing hurt since Game 3 of the Cavs-Boston Celtics series last month.

The Cavs lost Kevin Love to a season-ending shoulder injury in the final game of that series and then lost J.R. Smith to a two-game suspension to start the Bulls series. They'd been leaving James to do too much recently, and a day after Irving came clean in a way, he came back to the forefront.

"It's just about being in the right spots for LeBron and my teammates," Irving said. "I can't necessarily push off and get around people like I'm used to so I just commend (James) for sticking with me. We've built that dynamic...feeding off each other.

"This has been the biggest mental challenge of my career because I want to do more. I want to be that guy for my teammates as well as for Bron."

James didn't participate in a Tuesday morning shootaround because of a sore ankle, the result of a collision at the basket in Game 4. The Cavs aren't practicing as much as they're doing group therapy on the days between games in this series as they try to survive and move on to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Because James went for 38 points, 12 rebounds and six assists without a turnover -- and didn't have to go it alone -- the Bulls are down to their last chance in Game 6 Thursday night. Before the Cavs fly to Chicago, though, it's back to the training room for Irving -- with game film loaded on to his computer.

"Going into the game, even this morning at shootaround, I felt a little bit better," Irving said. "I just kept icing, kept getting treatment.

"I made some tough layups..I still had no lift on it. I had to trust my angles. I had one situation that I wouldn't even call a fast break. I just had to put the ball up at a certain angle."

Irving shot 9-of-16 in Game 5, and scored 15 of his 25 points in the second half. In Games 3 and 4, he shot a combined 5-of-23.

"What Kyrie did today, that's what he's been doing all season," Cavs coach David Blatt said. "He's not 100 percent but he's better. He felt better. He had more lift, more energy.

"The way he finished is the best we've seen him in some time."

Irving made the Cavs more dangerous -- and closer to whole. The Cavs had to move Irving defensively and try to hide him at times, but Irving had enough energy and mobility to both find space and create it at the offensive end, and the Cavs ended up shooting 51 percent for the game and getting the type of up-tempo game in which they thrive when they have their legs.

Nobody is at full speed at this point. Whatever Irving had, though, was good enough.

"In this league, great players have the ability to be great no matter what ailments they have," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "You can never let your guard down against those guys, so what (Irving did) doesn't surprise me. Obviously, we have to do better than we did."