Kyrie Irving's Honest Statement After Nuggets-Mavericks

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The Denver Nuggets picked up their fifth-straight win on Sunday night, defeating the Dallas Mavericks despite a 43-point explosion from Kyrie Irving.
Nikola Jokic made history in this game, becoming the first player ever to record his stat line of 37 points, 18 rebounds, and 15 assists. Jokic was one of six Nuggets players in double figures, including Michael Porter Jr. who hit the game-winning shot.
It was a nice move from Porter, who got around Irving and hit the one-handed shot with the clock running down. This gave Denver a 122-120 lead, which ended up being the game's final score.
THE MIKE DAGGER 🗡 pic.twitter.com/yQpTEmyqdO
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) November 11, 2024
Speaking after the game, Irving made an honest statement on his individual performance and Porter’s game-winner.
"Yeah, it was an empty performance," Irving said of his play (via Grant Afsesth of Sportskeeda). "It feels good to get some shots to go in, it was a great and efficient game."
Kyrie Irving knocked down 10 straight shots in the loss to the Nuggets!
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) November 11, 2024
43 PTS | 17/21 FG | 6/8 3PT | 5 AST | 1 TO pic.twitter.com/BSiiEzAOVM
On Porter’s shot, Irving added, “But at the end of the day, I closed out to Michael [Porter Jr.], kept him down and on his right hand. I ran him off the three-point line, but he just got in that lane and had a nice floater.”
Irving continued, saying of the Mavericks' defense, "But our defensive scheme could be better. We just got to keep talking to each other, but I do feel like our communication was great tonight. Especially when we were making mistakes, we would come up with a good rhythm."
Kyrie Irving on his performance against the Nuggets: "Yeah, it was an empty performance. It feels good to get some shots to go in, it was a great and efficient game. But at the end of the day, I closed out to Michael [Porter Jr.], kept him down and on his right hand. I ran him…
— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) November 11, 2024
This loss dropped Dallas to an even 5-5 on the season, which is not where it expected to be through 10 games after making the NBA Finals last season.
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Joey Linn is a credentialed writer covering the NBA and WNBA for On SI. Covering the LA Clippers independently in 2018, then for Fansided and 213Hoops from 2019-2021, Joey joined On SI to cover the Clippers after the 2020-21 season. Graduating from Biola University in 2022 with a Communication Studies degree, Joey served as Biola's play-by-play announcer for their basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. Joey's work on Biola's broadcasts and in the classroom earned him the Outstanding Communication Studies Student of the year award in 2022. Joey covers the NBA full-time, primarily serving as a Clippers beat writer.