Kyrie Irving Out-Duels Jalen Brunson, Shows Mavs’ Championship Ceiling in Win vs. Knicks
After enduring an embarrassing loss to a severely undermanned Memphis Grizzlies team on Tuesday, the Dallas Mavericks were expected to come into Thursday's game against the red-hot New York Knicks with the correct energy and mindset.
Despite MVP candidate Luka Doncic sitting out with an ankle injury, the Mavs did indeed bring that correct energy and put up a stellar performance against the Knicks, ending New York’s five-game win streak with a 128-124 victory at American Airlines Center. Dallas improved to 23-16 on the season and 4-1 on this current seven-game homestand.
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Kyrie Irving was a huge reason why the Mavs were able to spoil Jalen Brunson's first time playing in Dallas since leaving for New York in 2022 free agency. Irving dazzled from the opening tip, when he put up a quick eight points to set the tone, then finished the game with 44 points, 10 assists, four rebounds and two steals while shooting 15-26 overall, including 6-10 from deep.
“Well, in competition, you’re going to get embarrassed sometimes,” Irving said of the previous game. “I think that’s part of NBA-level competition. Some games you’re not going to play up to the level that you want, [but] I think we responded tonight. That was only 48 hours ago, and consistency is just as important as locking into the gameplan. Being able to create some opportunities throughout the game where you’re really focused on getting the best possession out of your teammates. It was a hard-fought game.”
Until Thursday night, Doncic was the only Mavs player to ever record a 40-point, 10-assist game – and he's done so a handful of times – but Irving has now joined him on that exclusive franchise list. For the season, Irving is averaging 24.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.4 steals while shooting 48.3 percent overall and 42.6 percent on 3s while also giving maximum effort on the defensive end of the floor.
“Again, I think we've talked about this before -- our stars are diving on the floor in a regular-season game. It just shows the importance of their leadership, where they're at, and their mentality,” Mavs head coach Jason Kidd said after Irving scrapped for loose balls on multiple occasions during the win over the Knicks.
“They're leaders and that's what leaders do; they've got to sacrifice once in a while. Kai (Kyrie Irving) and Luka [Doncic] have done that by diving for the ball, coming up with a steal and then we go the other way. Again, Kai's been great coming back from injury and we needed that.”
As good as Brunson has been in New York, Irving showed why Mavs fans should no longer be upset with how things went down a year and a half ago. Sure, the Mavs could've kept Brunson, meaning that Dorian Finney-Smith and Spencer Dinwiddie could've stayed on the team or been used to trade for a frontcourt upgrade ... but then again, Dallas wouldn't have Irving, and probably not 19-year-old rookie Dereck Lively II either, in that scenario.
When the lights are brightest, and the pressure is on, Irving is a guy you want in your corner, and the Mavs' goal is to make it to the postseason with their star backcourt duo healthy. If that happens, the Mavs will have a chance to beat any opponent they face and make some real noise in the playoffs, perhaps even more noise than they made in their 2022 Western Conference Finals run that featured Brunson.
“[It] opens up everything for us on the floor, and then we start playing off of him. He gives up himself when it comes down to him not having the ball,” said Tim Hardaway Jr., who had a big game of his own with 32 points on 50-percent shooting.
“Even with Luka out there, he does a great job of screening off the ball and playing off of guys, playing off their energy. That’s how we all play when that second unit is in there, when ‘77’ takes a break and we play fast, we play aggressive. It’s our brand of basketball, for sure.”
As good as Irving and Doncic are, though, the Mavs' roster isn't complete yet, and the Dallas front office is working the phones in hopes of upgrading the frontcourt before the Feb. 8 trade deadline. Whether that piece ends up being Toronto Raptors' Pascal Siakam, Portland Trail Blazers' Jerami Grant or someone else, the Mavs hope to be even better off than they are now when that deadline buzzer sounds.
