CLEVELAND -- The heir to LeBron James' throne scored 42 points in a playoff game last night.

Not just any playoff game. But Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals.

Thirty-six of them after James picked up his fourth foul. The Cavs were down 16, tilting toward a 2-2 series tie with Boston.

Ladies and gentlemen, Kyrie Irving.

"In the back of my mind, I was like, I'm saying to myself, we cannot -- they cannot tie up this series," Irving said. "They cannot. We cannot go to Boston 2-2 and then it becomes almost an even series."

By now, you probably know Irving's role in the Cavs' 112-99 win over the Celtics. He set a new playoff career high with those 42 points, tied a team playoff record with 21 points in the third quarter and reeled off the final 14 of that period.

Boston coach Brad Stevens will see in his sleep Irving driving to the hoop and kissing layups off the glass over his rim protectors for weeks. The step-back 3-pointer Irving drained with .5 seconds left in the third, capping a 17-point swing for the Cavs was vintage Irving.

It's vintage because, well, this wasn't the first time. No one forgets Irving's step-back 3 over Stephen Curry to basically win Game 7 of the Finals.

Or the 41 points he scored on the night James also poured in 41 to beat the Warriors in Game 5.

And all the snippets of greatness in between.

So here sits James and Irving. James, save for that, umm, hiccup in Game 3, is having the best postseason of his life at age 32. He scored 34 on a night when he sat the final 6:46 of the first half with those four fouls. James is still in the prime of his career and is about to make his seventh straight Finals. An eighth is probably a safe bet next season.

Irving, meanwhile, at 25, is just getting into his prime having already won a championship and made one of the biggest shots in NBA history. After Game 4, Irving said when "you have a special player like Bron on your team, sometimes you can get caught watching and you allow him to be great."

Some day, down the road, all of James' kingdom in Cleveland could be his, even if Irving is ready right now.

"It's hard not to think about because as I continue to get older and I'm playing with an unbelievable player like Bron, you know, from the outsider's perspective, it could be seen a few ways, and for me, it's -- it hasn't been anything short of difficult, trying to figure out when will it be my time," Irving said. "And the honest answer from me is that I cannot give any energy to anything that people say would be best for the team or even sometimes what I think would be best. My job is to be in the moment, especially with an unbelievable player like him. You have to just enjoy the ride just as much."

During the conference semifinals, James told cleveland.com that he had nothing left to prove in pro basketball. He wasn't announcing his coming retirement -- nothing of the sort -- but it serves as a reminder that not even James' career will last forever.

The potentially harsh reality, a reality no one really wants to contemplate in the middle of another Finals run, is that James can become a free agent after next season. He will need to decide once again if he wants to remain in Cleveland, or finish his career somewhere warm. The Cavs would probably be forced to pay him $209 million to keep him. At some point, his considerable skills will begin to decline.

Whether James stays and eventually slows down here, or if he runs out the last years of his illustrious career outside of Cleveland, Irving would probably be the No. 1 player here.

That moment, whenever it comes, is what James has often said he's been grooming Irving for since he returned in 2014.

"I mean, the kid is special, and he basically was just waiting for an opportunity to be able to blossom, and I'm just happy and blessed that when I decided to come back that I was able to help him blossom, I guess, because he gets to play in games that he's always been built for," James said.

Yes, the Cavs were terrible in Irving's first three seasons while James was in Miami. And when James doesn't play in the regular season, the Cavs almost always lose. But together they're about to go to their third straight Finals since James and Irving joined forces and invited Kevin Love.

"He was already built for it," James said. "His game was built for it, and I'm happy, like I said, to be able to, I guess, sit back with four fouls and see him do what he's always been built to do. He was born for these moments."