Mavs’ Kyrie Irving Drops Bold Statement After Game 2 Victory

When the Dallas Mavericks acquired Kyrie Irving from the Brooklyn Nets ahead of the 2023 NBA Trade Deadline, there was a good amount of optimism and excitement. Irving, when on the court, was still one of the most dynamic players in the league.

Pairing him with Luka Doncic in the same backcourt would certainly give opponents fits. But, the start of their partnership wasn’t a fruitful one. The Mavericks struggled to get momentum going as the roster was incomplete around them.

The first stage of their partnership was a failure. Dallas missed the 2023 NBA Playoffs but bounced back this season. The front office did a good job of retooling the roster around their two starts, including deadline deals for P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford.

In the loaded Western Conference, the Mavericks were able to land the No. 5 seed. It pitted them against the No. 4 seed Los Angeles Clippers, a team Dallas knows well from recent postseason battles.

In Game 1, the results were more of the same. Dallas received little contributions from anyone outside of Doncic and Irving, as they trailed by double-digits for more than three-quarters of the game.

For Game 2, things weren’t getting any easier. Kawhi Leonard, who missed Game 1 because of knee inflammation, was back in the lineup. A 0-2 hole was staring the Mavericks in the face, but they responded to the adversity.

Dallas pulled off the upset victory, winning 96-93. After going down six early in the fourth quarter, the Mavericks ripped off a 14-0 run to take control of the game. They wouldn’t surrender the lead again, evening the series up at one win apiece.

After the game, Irving spoke candidly about the journey he and the Mavericks took to get to this point. He believes some of the failures early on actually helped the team grow and get to where they are now.