© Andrew Dieb-USA TODAY Sports
Dallas Mavs Reactions: Kyrie Irving, Luka Doncic Combine for 85 Points - 'Playing for Something Bigger'
The Dallas Mavericks showed championship-level grit on Sunday by coming back from a 22-piont deficit to beat the Houston Rockets. Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic combined for 85 points, Dante Exum continued to show that he has the clutch gene, and Dallas is closer than ever to locking up a top-five seed in the West.
There's just something special about these Dallas Mavericks' Sunday games that tip-off at 2:30 p.m. CT...
A few weeks after Kyrie Irving hit a buzzer-beating left-handed floater to defeat the Denver Nuggets, there were more buzzer-beating theatrics at American Airlines Center on Sunday, as the Mavs erased a 22-point deficit to officially eliminate Houston Rockets from postseason contention with a 147-136 win.
Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic garnered most of the attention, as the dynamic duo combined for 85 points in the win. Irving led the way with 48 points, and Doncic pitched in with 37 points while being one rebound shy of a triple-double.
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Before the game got to overtime, though, it was Dante Exum who provided the heroics by hitting a 3-pointer as time expired in regulation to tie the game at 129-129. Exum, who is shooting 50 percent from deep this season, has proven himself as being able to nail big shots in the clutch, and the Rockets messed up by leaving him that open. He finished with 14 points and nine rebounds while being a +23 in 35 minutes off the bench.
"It's just about the trust, the talk and understanding that we have each other's back," Mavs head coach Jason Kidd said. "No matter what's happening, if you're not shooting well, there's always the encouragement that you can make the next shot. Just understand that we're playing for something bigger than the back of the jersey - we're playing for one another.
"You can see the chemistry of the team when you look at the celebration at the end. Understand that it takes a long time to build that and that just doesn't happen overnight. The beauty of Kai and Luka hugging there at the end - just the trust - those two trust in their teammates that were out on the floor. It was huge."
On today's episode of the Mavs Step Back Podcast, we recap Sunday's thrilling matchup at length, while also looking ahead at Dallas' remaining four games on the schedude and its playoffs outlook. Also ... what more does Doncic have to do in order to win his first MVP award this season? We discuss all that and more on today's show, and you can watch/listen to the entire conversation here.
