Kyrie Irving Breaks Mavs All-Star Game Scoring Record; Team LeBron Falls to Team Giannis
SALT LAKE CITY — Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving represented the Dallas Mavericks at the 2023 NBA All-Star Game as the only pair of teammates to start.
For the first time, the NBA had the two All-Star captains, LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo, select the players for their team on the court before the start of the game. The draft process was previously done in part of a live televised event.
Team Giannis managed to achieve the fourth-quarter target score first to come away with the 184-175 victory. James had previously been 5-0 as the captain of the NBA All-Star Game following the format change from East vs. West.
Both Doncic and Irving were selected to play for Team LeBron, but Irving was the first of the two to be picked. James ended up only playing in the opening half after later being ruled out at halftime due to a hand injury.
Doncic did not have his foot pressed very hard on the gas pedal regarding how hard he was playing. There were often many consecutive plays he didn't get back on offense while his teammates played with the basketball. He finished with four points in 19 minutes of action. It's safe to say that Doncic is more focused on taking a quick vacation to Mexico, but that's understandable given the load he's had to carry for the first 60 games of this season.
"Get a nice beer for [Luka] on the plane to Cabo," Irving said with a big smile. "We'll see him on Wednesday."
There was clearly more of a focus from Irving to make an impact on the game as he finished with 32 points, seven rebounds, and 15 assists. The Mavs record for the highest scoring All-Star performance was set in 1987 by Rolando Blackman when he finished with 29 points. Irving, who has only been a Maverick for two weeks, now holds that record.
"I just think it was a low total, and Dirk [Nowitzki] wasn't getting enough shots," Irving said when explaining how he was able to break the record so easily.
Irving's 15 assists also equaled a Mavs All-Star Game record.
The Mavs will be back in action on Thursday as they take on the San Antonio Spurs in the first of a six-game homestand.
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