LOS ANGELES – What happened Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena is precisely what Mavericks’ fans envisioned when their favorite
team acquired Kyrie Irving in a trade last season with the Brooklyn Nets.
The acquisition of Irving put the Mavs in a position where opponents could no longer just double-team Luka Doncic and force one of the Mavs’ role players to try and beat them. If they use that strategy now, they have to deal with Irving, who, like Doncic, is one of the NBA’s premier players and a sniper capable of taking over a game at any moment because of his superior skill set.
That’s exactly what occurred when the Mavs battled the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday. The Lakers had stormed back to take a 101-99 lead with under a minute remaining after overcoming a 20-point deficit to start the fourth quarter.
In past years, the inclination for the Mavs was to draw up a play specifically for Doncic to bail them out and hopefully help them emerge with a victory. With Irving now on board, the Mavs now have two such players who can bail them out and hopefully help them emerge with a victory.
Against the Lakers, as Doncic was double-teamed, he tossed a pass to Irving, who calmly drained a three-pointer with 20.8 seconds left to give the Mavs a 102-101 lead and suck the life out of Crypto.com Arena. For opponents, it’s as if they’re going to take their chance on Doncic beating them, or take their chance on Irving beating them.
Either way, it’s an optimum position for the Mavs to be in.
“I didn’t know he was going to be open, so I was really surprised,” Doncic said, referring to Irving’s game-winner. “Sometimes they double me, sometimes no.
“In the first half they doubled me all the time, then they stopped. It’s just really, really unique.”
It is indeed a unique situation for the Mavs to have two players at their disposal who are accustomed to burying a game-winner at a moment’s notice. That’s the beauty of last season’s blockbuster trade with the Nets.
And the presence of both Doncic and Irving as dangerous weapons are the main reasons the Mavs are 7-1 this season in clutch situations, which is when teams are within five points of each under with under five minutes remaining in the game.
Coach Jason Kidd acknowledged the calmness of how Irving was able to step up and knock down the biggest shot of the game that padded the Mavs’ record to 10-5.
“We played three really good quarters of basketball, and then in the fourth (quarter) we came out and missed our first 11 (shots),” Kidd said. “But just down the stretch between (Irving) and Luka being able to find one another, and Kai being able to step up and make a big three to help us win the game (was huge).”
Doncic finished with 30 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists and two steals and was 10-of-26 from the floor. Meanwhile, Irving tacked on 28 points, six rebounds and two steals and was 11-of-22 from the field, including 4-of-8 from downtown.
Also, it was a pair of pressure-packed free throws by Irving with 2.3 seconds left that gave the Mavs a three-point cushion en route to their defensive-minded 104-101 win over the Lakers.
“You see Luka getting doubled and they’re going to double Kyrie, too,” said guard Josh Green, who tallied 15 points against the Lakers. “I think we’ve done a good job of being able to use both at the end of games, and also create outlets.
“Luka and Kyrie, they’re amazing. But they also trust the role players and they have faith that we can make the play.”
Overall this season, Doncic is averaging 30.5 points, 8.3 rebounds, 8.1 assists and 1.2 steals while shooting 48.1 percent from the field and 40.8 percent from three-point range. And Irving is averaging 24.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.2 steals while shooting 47.6 percent from the floor and 39.5 percent from beyond the three-point arc.
The Mavs hope Doncic and Irving continue their clutch shooting when they play the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday at 9:30 p.m. at Crypto.com Arena.
On Irving’s game-winner against the Lakers, Doncic said: “We can always rely on Kai. He’s one of the best basketball players, so we can always rely on him no matter what.”
For the Mavs, being able to rely on both Doncic and Irving when games get tight provide a double trouble proposition for opponents to have to deal with.
X: @DwainPrice
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