MEMPHIS — At one point when the Dallas Mavericks dropped nine of 12 games from Feb. 11 to March 13, they did what
most teams do when the sky seems to be falling.
“We had some real conversations, grownup conversations, mature conversations that I can honestly say that in my 12 years or 11 years on every team we haven’t had those direct conversations sometimes,” guard Kyrie Irving said. “It’s no comparisons.
“It’s just we had a real group conversation that we needed to get some things out, and now we’re just living with the wins and losses because we’re together. Those conversations behind the scenes really matter for our organization, so it’s been happening.”
Those conversations have led to the Mavs (36-35) taking a two-game winning streak and tons of confidence into Monday night’s game in Memphis against the Grizzlies.
Irving wouldn’t divulge any intimate details of those conversations. But in Friday’s emotional 111-110 buzzer-beating win over the 
Los Angeles Lakers, he played 39 minutes – coach Jason Kidd said he wanted to keep his minutes under 40 – and handled the offense with the precision of a surgeon working on the operating table.
“Thirty-nine (minutes)? I did not plan for that at all,” Irving said. “We got the ‘W’ — that’s really the key to the rest of the season right now. Whatever it takes.
“I let the guys know before the game, ‘Let’s rock.’ They know what that entails. I just put my body on the line and live with the results.”
The game against the Lakers was Irving’s first after he missed three while nursing right foot soreness. Considering the Lakers are looked at as one of the NBA’s gold standard franchises – the Boston Celtics and Lakers each have the most championships at 17 apiece – Irving really wanted to be ready to play.
“I don’ think there’s any extra science or anything,” Irving said, regarding how he got his foot ready to go step-for-step with the Lakers. “Obviously I can sit at home or be on the court and be like, ‘I wish my foot felt as great as it has
all season.’ But it’s just not the reality.
“I’m just taking my reps out there on the floor and being efficient with the opportunities that I have. It’s not like this is the first time for me that I’ve ever played with an injury. So just keep pushing and keep getting rehab and recovery, and do all that I can to put myself in the best position.”
Irving made the crisp pass to Maxi Kleber with just two seconds remaining against the Lakers and the Mavs trailing by two points. Kleber released the ball with only 0.2 seconds left, and his three-point buzzer-beater was the difference in the Mavs’ dramatic victory.
The shot was extra emotional for Kleber since he’s still trying to get back into form after missing 35 games following surgery to repair his torn right hamstring. Add that on top of the two botched plays Kleber committed in the final 1.8 seconds of regulation play Wednesday against San Antonio, and his game-winner against the Lakers was much-needed from a personal and emotional standpoint.
“I think he feels how much we’re pushing ourselves right now toward the end of the season,” Irving said of Kleber. “I just want to continue to give him confidence. I’m still getting to know him as a person and as a hooper out there. As long as I can look at him eye-to-eye and communicate, then I feel like 
we’re going to be able to be in a good place. (Friday), he made some big plays offensively and defensively.”
While he had two Lakers surrounding him and with time running out, Irving knew he had to find a friendly face to pass the ball to. He found Kleber hanging out on the left wing all by his lonesome.
“I really was intentional with that pass because I put it right in his shot pocket,” Irving said. “We work on that as a team, too, when we’re passing to each other in practice, so it definitely helped (Friday) and I’m glad we were successful.”
Friday’s game was the type of success the Mavs are hoping they’ll continue to have entering the final 11 regular season games and beyond. Part of that is the synergy they’ve slowly developed since the Feb. 6 blockbuster trade which brought Irving from the Brooklyn Nets to the Mavs.
“Kai is a true believer in energy and connection,” Kidd said. “Maxi took it hard that in San Antonio that he could have just thrown it in and we wouldn’t had to go into overtime. He felt like he let his teammates down.
“His teammates picked him up, and then again the trust (Friday) to come to him with the game-winner. That just shows how special those guys are in that locker room. Kai says it best: Redemption is a beautiful thing.”
Since Feb. 11, the Mavs have lost five games by four points or less. That includes home games against Minnesota (124-121), the Lakers (111-108 after leading by 27 points), Indiana (124-122) and Phoenix (130-126).
The Mavs also lost in Memphis (112-108) on March 11, in addition to dropping a 133-128 contest in overtime in Sacramento on Feb. 11 which started the downward trend that was part of “some real conversations, grownup conversations, mature conversations” which Irving alluded to.
“I think if you watch over our last – I don’t know how many games, maybe 10 or 12 — we’ve been in almost every game, other than probably just one blowout or two blowouts,” Irving said. “Down the stretch is really where we have to build that trust.
“As well as I’ve been playing in the fourth quarter throughout this season, I just don’t want us to rely just on that. I’m going to show up, but at the same time I just want my teammates to get aggressive as well, and make my job a lot easier.”
Certainly, Kleber’s game-winning shot at the buzzer against the Lakers made Irving’s job a lot easier.
Twitter: @DwainPrice
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