On the degree-of-difficulty scale, when a shot amazes even Luka Dončić, you know it’s off the chart.
Kyrie Irving’s 21-foot left-handed hook/push/floater to beat the buzzer on Sunday was more than just impressive. It was . . .
“Unbelievable, man,” Dončić said. “I don’t think people realize how tough of a shot that is. With the off-hand, like even to have a chance. I don’t think I have seen anything that special.”
And that comes from the man who has produced a lot of magic in his basketball life.
Irving’s shot over the arms of Denver’s Nikola Jokic caressed the net as the buzzer sounded and gave the Mavericks a 107-105 victory Sunday afternoon over the defending NBA champion Nuggets at American Airlines Center.
As playoff-style basketball becomes the rule in the final month of the regular season, the Mavericks showed they are perfectly capable of handling it with a victory that was as clutch as they come.
It was a rugged game against the defending NBA champions, but the Mavericks took the pounding, dished some out of their own, and survived just fine thanks to Irving.
The right-handed guard took the inbound pass from Maxi Kleber with 2.8 seconds left, made a quick move toward the center of the court and let the shot fly with the left hand from just right of the top of the free-throw circle.
Then, pandemonium as his teammates mobbed him.
“I’ve seen a lot of great shots, but I think that one takes the cake,” said Dereck Lively II. “In Kyrie we trust. As soon as we give him the ball, we know he’s going to find a great shot or make a great opportunity for someone else. So whenever we see him get the ball, we just sit back and watch it happen.
“He made the shot.”
It was a fitting end to a game that had so many twists and turns and momentum changes.
And Irving said it was just one of those plays that happens without a whole lot of thought going into the process. There wasn’t much time to analyze the situation.
“It’s a play we work on in shootaround pretty often,” Irving said. “It felt good to execute and have the trust of my teammates out there and being fortunate enough to hit a left-hand floater outside the free-throw line – I thought I got a little closer in the paint, but I was pretty far out.
“It was just so exciting. To have a game-winner like that was pretty special.”
Irving puts in a lot of time on his left-handed skills. He prides himself on being one of the best ambidextrous players in the league. Clearly it paid off with a shot that he said seemed like the right play to make as the play developed.
“Sometimes, I spend an hour straight just working on left-hand stuff that no one sees (in practices),” he said. “Being a small guard, you just got to have a multitude of finishes and that’s something I’ve worked on since I was a kid. I just try to work on things that the defense is not really expecting.”
And as for the play?
“The majority of it is instinctual,” he said. “I saw Jokic taking away my pull-up going left. I didn’t know he was going to commit like that. So he was forcing me inside the three-point line. As soon as I felt him behind me, I was like: oh, I have my left hand. It was wide-open, so why not go to it. That’s the way I saw it. Just instincts.”
Whether or not it was a hook, a floater, a push shot or just a hybrid of them all didn’t matter.
It went in.
And while great players like Dončić and Irving try a lot of crazy shots in practice, this was different.
“In the game, that’s different,” Luka said. “Anybody can try anything in practice, but in a game? That’s different.
“I think it’s a really big win.”
Indeed. The win was important.
The Mavericks improved to 39-29 and moved them into a three-way tie for sixth place in the Western Conference, while the Nuggets fell to 47-21.
And the way they won should do nothing but energize their momentum for the last 14 games of the regular season.
“Opposite hand, understanding Kai probably is going to go down as one of the best finishers ever, and his flow game with the right-left, it’s just natural,” coach Jason Kidd said. “And he delivered. Luka put us in position by tying it. And Kai being able to read the situation and get the ball.
“And Maxi (Kleber), to be able to get the ball in was big.”
Luka Dončić made one of two free throws with 1:26 showing to leave the Mavericks with a precarious 102-100 lead.
Jokic, the MVP frontrunner, posted up on Dončić and converted a short hook shot. After Luka missed an 18-foot jumper, Jamal Murray spotted up from beyond the arc and drilled a three-pointer for a 105-102 Denver lead.
But the Mavericks tied it with Luka’s triple with 28 seconds to go.
As Irving said: “I wouldn’t have gotten that shot off without Luka tying the game. He was unbelievable tonight. That three that he hit to tie the game was just as big as the game-winner.”
And, by the way, Kleber got the assist on both of the last two Maverick baskets.
Murray missed a midrange jumper for the Nuggets and left 2.8 seconds on the clock, plenty of time for Irving’s heroic shot, which came just over the outstretched arms of Jokic.
Irving finished with 24 points, nine assists and seven rebounds. Dončić had 37 points.
The Mavericks found out a few hours before tipoff that Dončić would be available after having missed Thursday’s game at Oklahoma City with left hamstring soreness. They found out less than an hour before the game that Dante Exum (right foot sprain) also would be available.
But the news was not as good for Josh Green, who was ruled out for Sunday and Kidd said that the right ankle sprain he sustained in Oklahoma City will keep him out long term.
“It’ll be a couple weeks,” he said.
X: @ESefko
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