Former Duke basketball one-and-done gets fan ejected from game
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It appears that frustrations have reached a tipping point for the Dallas Mavericks and their former Duke basketball guard, Kyrie Irving.
On Sunday, the Mavericks suffered their fourth straight loss, this time on the road at the hands of the lowly Charlotte Hornets (25-51), 110-104; the Hornets' NBA Blue Devil, rookie center Mark Williams, recorded his eighth double-double as a pro with 15 points and 16 boards. Two nights earlier, Dallas lost at home to Charlotte, 117-109.
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Irving finished Sunday's bout with 18 points but shot only 5-for-15 from the field across 35 minutes on the floor. And during a stoppage in play early in the third quarter, the 12th-year pro walked with one of the officials to point out an alleged unruly spectator, and security then escorted him from his seat as he voiced a final "boo."
There's no word on what words the fan said to warrant the ejection. And Irving didn't make it abundantly clear in his postgame presser.
"He just called me out, my name," Irving explained to the media. "So I just had to make sure I looked him eye to eye, see if he would say it to my face...He yelled it, and I handled it."
Despite all the losing, the 31-year-old Irving, who went No. 1 overall at the 2011 NBA Draft following his one-and-done Duke basketball campaign, is averaging 27.0 points per game as a Maverick. That's on par with his 27.1 season average.
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But since his move to Dallas from the Brooklyn Nets via an early February trade, the Mavericks have posted a disappointing 7-13 record.
At the time of his arrival, the team was 29-26 and, at first, looked like a potential title contender with the pairing of Kyrie Irving, a one-time NBA Champion and eight-time All-Star, and four-time All-Star Luka Doncic. Following a two-game win streak to begin Irving's time with the Mavericks, they sat No. 4 in the Western Conference standings.
Now, Dallas is 36-39, No. 11 in the standings, and in danger of missing out on the postseason for the first time since 2019. Only seven regular-season games remain.
The Mavericks' next outing is on the road against the Indiana Pacers (33-42) at 7 p.m. ET Monday.
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