Dallas Mavericks flashing greatness with new Doncic-Irving tandem
By Ashton Nicks
Kyrie Irving had one of the best 4th quarters in Dallas Mavericks history Monday night as the Mavs fell short to Minnesota 124-121.
This game was not nearly as close as the score makes it seem. The Dallas Mavericks trailed most of this game with the T-Wolves leading by 11 at halftime and getting the lead as high as 26 in the 3rd before Kyrie took over in the 4th.
Kyrie had just 10 points heading into the 4th quarter but exploded for 26 points in the 4th quarter alone. That mark puts him 3rd all-time in Mavs history for points scored in a quarter, behind Dirk’s 29 and Luka’s 28. A very impressive feat for a guy playing in just his 4th career game with the Mavericks.
Late in the game the Dallas Mavericks came back all the way to within 2 points of Minnesota. Believe it or not, Dallas made this comeback a lot harder than it needed to be playing questionable defense down the stretch while struggling to secure a defensive rebound multiple times late. Minnesota even missed a crucial free throw that would have pushed the lead to 4 with just 14 seconds left.
Luka contributed to the comeback as well, scoring 5 of the Mavs 39 4th-quarter points in the last 3 minutes. Luka finished with 33 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists while Kyrie had 36 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists.
Overall the comeback fell short. Luka got the rebound of a missed Minnesota free throw with 14 seconds left down by 3. After the Kidd timeout the Mavs struggled to get the ball in with Luka finally getting it in the backcourt. The Mavs were unable to get a shot off as Kyrie and Luka passed it back and forth looking for a good shot before Kyrie tried to get it inside to Green with a bad pass, turning the ball over and ending the game.
It’s worth noting that with all this the Mavs did have a timeout left.
With the loss the Dallas Mavericks sit in 5th place in the Western Conference standings, 2.5 back of 3rd but also just 2.5 from the 11th seed and being out of the playoffs altogether.
Despite the loss, it’s not all bad for the Dallas Mavericks. Kyrie does seem to sync with this team and while it’s just a small sample size, Kyrie and Luke seem to work well together. The Mavs won’t get much of a break with their next game being on the road Wednesday night in Denver to play the first place Nuggets.