Preview: Irving has produced back-to-back double-doubles

It may have gone unnoticed in some circles, but Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving will enter Wednesday’s home game against Toronto after piecing together double-doubles via points and assists in back-to-back games on back-to-back nights.

Irving scored 21 points and distributed 10 assists during Monday’s 117-102 road win over the Orlando Magic. That came one night after he poured in 18 points and handed out 10 assists during Sunday’s 124-118 home victory over the Charlotte Hornets.

With those double-digit assist games, Irving is now averaging 7.8 assists this season, which is tops for any season during his 13-year career.

“I have to give all the credit to my teammates for making my job a lot easier,” Irving said. “I just got to get the ball to the right place at the right time and trust that they’re going to make the shot.

“I’ve played with some high-level players and sometimes they’ve scored first and sometimes I’ve scored first, and we try to play off each other. I think at this point in my career it feels good to be able to have the ball in my hands down the stretch or throughout types of situations or circumstances within the game and have the trust of my teammates to just get us back in the game, and doing it on both ends of the floor, especially.”

While Irving also is averaging a career-high 1.8 steals per game, he would like to see an increase in his shooting percentages. So far this season he’s shooting 43.3 percent from the field and 24.1 percent from three-point range.

“It’s natural for me to say I’m frustrated with my own jump shots and focus on the things that I’m not necessarily doing well percentage-wise or stats-wise,” Irving said. “That’s the easy thing. But the focus is really on our team wins and our team camaraderie, and how do I make sure I get the best out of my teammates every single night despite what I’m doing out there scoring-wise.

“It’s definitely refreshing to be able to get wins where my teammates are really bringing that level of intensity and focus, and want to play well alongside me and Luka (Doncic) and the rest of the guys. I’m looking forward to the future and having more games like (the win over Orlando) and being able to take my time as a point guard or a shooting guard alongside Luka and just take some pressure off him.”

*Wednesday’s game is the first of a short two-game home stand for the Mavs. The home stand concludes with Friday’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers. After that the Mavs will have a four-game road trip that includes a pair of games in New Orleans on Sunday and Tuesday, and games on Nov. 15 in Washington and Nov. 18 in Milwaukee before they return home to host Sacramento on Nov. 19.

*The Mavs lead the NBA in clutch wins with six. Clutch Win No. 6 occurred Monday when the Mavs rallied from a 15-point deficit to emerge victorious in Orlando, 117-102.

*For the Raptors, this is the third of a four-game road trip which ends Saturday in Boston before they return home to host Washington on Monday. The trip started last Thursday with a 114-99 loss in Philadelphia. And on Sunday, Toronto rallied from a 22-point deficit to win in overtime in San Antonio, 123-116. That ties for the second-largest road comeback victory in franchise history.

*The Mavs are 30-23 all-time against the Raptors, including a 20-7 record during games played in Dallas. The Mavs have also won four of the last five games played between the two clubs. In addition, 17 of the previous 20 games between these two organizations were decided by single digits.

*Raptors forward Scottie Barnes collected 30 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, three steals and three blocked shots in Sunday’s win over the Spurs. Barnes, who averages team highs of 22.6 ppg, 9.9 rpg and 2.14 bpg, became the first player this season to record a stat line that involved at least 30 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, three steals and three blocked shots.

*Mavs guard Kyrie Irving had a very solid outing against Orlando this past Monday when he scored 12 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter. Irving also collected seven rebounds, 10 assists and three steals against the Magic.

*Raptors forward OG Anunoby is averaging 16.2 ppg, and is coming off a 24-point, seven-rebound outing against the Spurs. Anunoby converted a career-high seven three-pointers against San Antonio.

*Luka Doncic has 58 career triple-doubles and needs one more to tie Larry Bird for ninth place on the NBA’s all-time triple-double list. The Mavs’ guard contributed 29 points, six assists and two steals in the victory over the Magic.

*Mavs guard Tim Hardaway Jr. is making a strong case to become this season’s Sixth Man Award winner. So far this season, Hardaway has three 20-point games and has come off the bench to average 18.1 ppg and shoot 38.5 percent from behind the three-point line.

TORONTO RAPTORS (3-4) at DALLAS MAVERICKS (6-1)

When: 7:30 p.m., Wednesday

Where: American Airlines Center, Dallas

TV: BSSW

Radio: 97.1 FM The Freak; 99.1 FM Zona MX (Spanish)

X: @DwainPrice