DALLAS — In the Dallas Mavericks’ penultimate game before the All-Star break, Kyrie Irving hit three 3-pointers in a 41-second span and scored 42 points against a top-10 NBA defense.
Yet, arguably the most impressive play he made Wednesday against the Golden State Warriors came on the defensive end. With 17.6 seconds remaining, Irving stepped in front of Warriors forward Jimmy Butler and took a charge.
“Plain and simple,” Irving said after Dallas’ 111-107 win. “If I’m putting my body on the line, we all have to. Whatever it takes to win.”
Kyrie Irving scored 42 PTS tonight…
And took this CRUCIAL charge in the closing seconds to help seal the @dallasmavs 4-point win! pic.twitter.com/NDOixj5T00
— NBA (@NBA) February 13, 2025
It has been almost two weeks since the Mavericks moved Luka Dončić in a middle-of-the night trade. They lost their first game without him by 43 points to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Since then, the Mavericks have lost games to the Philadelphia 76ers and Sacramento Kings by a combined three points but also earned quality wins over the Boston Celtics, Houston Rockets, Golden State Warriors and, on Thursday night, the Miami Heat. The Mavericks beat the Heat 118-113 despite Irving and Klay Thompson not playing.
They have won four of five games headed into the All-Star break.
“This year is about being resilient and putting your hard hat on,” said Irving, who on Monday was named an All-Star injury replacement for teammate Anthony Davis.
Irving in recent years has been praised more for his skill than his grit, but this season, he has worn Carhartts to work and packed a lunch pail. The Mavericks have had multiple injuries to deal with, and earlier this month, they traded a perennial MVP candidate. The burden to create offense and mentally stay the course falls heavily on the 32-year-old’s shoulders.
Irving is averaging nearly 37 minutes per game while having one of the most efficient scoring seasons of his career.
“He sets a standard,” said Kessler Edwards, who was teammates with Irving in Brooklyn and is now on a two-way contract in Dallas. “If he sees any of us slacking, he holds us to that. He also has a great personality. It’s light in the locker room around him, so it’s great.”
Irving’s whatever-it-takes mentality has trickled down to the rest of the team. On Thursday, the Mavericks gave him the night off after he played 40 minutes in the Warriors win. Dallas only had nine players available against Miami. Somehow, it still found a way to win.
Dante Exum scored 27 points. He was one of seven Mavericks in double figures in the victory against the Heat.
“No one is pouting. Everyone is playing,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said Thursday. “Big win before the break. Now we can rest, regroup and get ready for the second half.”
Dante Exum (0) scored a team-high 27 points Thursday, as the Mavericks beat the Miami Heat and earned their fourth win in five games. (Kevin Jairaj / Imagn Images)
Kidd coached one of the most difficult games of his career Monday against Sacramento. Daniel Gafford, the Mavericks’ last healthy center with any real NBA experience, suffered a right knee injury in the second quarter. The Mavericks were in position to win in overtime until DeMar DeRozan hit a go-ahead midrange shot in the final seconds.
The loss further was marred by American Airlines Center security ejecting fans who were angry about the Dončić trade. Kidd was so frustrated that he skipped postgame media availability.
“It’s hard to sleep right now,” Kidd said. “Just understanding I need to find a way to put those guys in position to be successful. We are asking a lot of those guys to do things we never asked them to do. There are no complaints in that locker room.”
Fan frustration with Mavericks management likely isn’t going to fade any time soon, but the players Dallas has in uniform have given fans little to complain about. In his first — and so far, only — game as a Maverick, Davis was cheered loudly in pregame introductions. Davis dominated for a half but left in the third quarter with a left adductor strain.
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The Mavericks were so injury depleted in their final two games before the All-Star break that they started the 6-foot-8 Edwards at center. Edwards said he hadn’t played the position since high school. He said the Dončić trade “was a lot of shock” when it first happened.
“But we have vets holding it down,” Edwards said.
Few teams need the All-Star break as badly as Dallas. The last two weeks have worn on the Mavericks physically and emotionally. They have continued to win, which is a testament to Irving, Kidd and others who haven’t let this February chaos sink their season.
“Our home stadium, we have to protect it,” Irving said. “Our building, we have to protect it. I feel like our fans know that. We are obviously dealing with something unique. At the same time, we have to put our best foot forward.”
(Photo of Kyrie Irving and Olivier-Maxence Prosper: Jerome Miron / Imagn Images)
