NBA Top Five Performances, March 17: Kyrie Irving Returned from Injury with 38 Points in Dallas Mavericks’ Win Against the Los Angeles Lakers

Kyrie Irving had a superstar performance against Los Angeles Lakers in his first game in over a week.

TOP PLAYERS OF THE DAY:

The Dallas Mavericks were struggling with injuries to superstars Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving. 

Luckily, Irving returned after a three-game absence to lift the Mavericks over the Los Angeles Lakers. Irving ended the night with 38 points, six rebounds and six assists to help the Mavericks escape with a victory in Los Angeles. Irving had a clutch fourth quarter, scoring 13 points and dishing out the pass to Maxi Kleber for the winning 3-pointer.

“Everybody knew we were going to Kyrie, and he still got the ball away to Maxi with two guys on him,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. “Kyrie did everything to explore, to get a shot, and then the trust to be able to get it to Maxi.”

OTHERS:

- DeMar DeRozan went off for 49 points, 14 rebounds and three steals in the Chicago Bulls’ double overtime victory against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

- Joel Embiid added another monster performance to his MVP campaign with 38 points in the Philadelphia 76ers’ blowout win over the Charlotte Hornets.

- Tyus Jones’ first career triple-double helped the Memphis Grizzlies overcome a 29-point deficit in their overtime win against the San Antonio Spurs. Jones had 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists, including four of the Grizzlies’ last seven points in the extra period.

- Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young had 25 points and a clutch steal against Steph Curry to hand the Golden State Warriors their 10th consecutive road loss.

Jayden Armant is a contributor to Inside the Heat. He is a student at Howard University. He can be reached at jayden.armant@bison.howard.edu or follow him on Twitter @jaydenarmant.