For those fans who braved the inclement weather conditions and made it to American Airlines Center on Thursday night,
they were treated to something that’s never happened in the 43-year history of the Dallas Mavericks.
Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving put on one of those spectacular shows for the ages for the 20,002 fans in attendance and for those watching on national television. Doncic poured in 42 points and Irving added 40 as the Mavs built a 25-point lead in the third quarter and held on to upend the Philadelphia 76ers, 133-126.
Doncic and Irving became the first pair of Mavs players to score at least 40 points in the same game and just the fifth pair of teammates in NBA history to accomplish this feat in a non-overtime game during the past 30 years. And they were as efficient as they come, as Doncic converted 13-of-22 shots, while Irving was 15-of-22 from the field.
This was the type of epic performance the Mavs anticipated when they acquired Irving in a trade with the Brooklyn Nets on Feb. 6. At the time, they knew pairing Irving with Doncic would lead to games where opponents would be bouncing off the balls trying to keep up with what has become the most feared backcourt in the NBA.
“I thought our leaders, when you talk about Luka and Kai, they were great on both ends of the floor,” coach Jason Kidd said. “Offensively, both having 40 and 42, but those guys set the tone from the first quarter.
“You know those guys were trying to lead their team to victory and you know Kai’s (substitution) pattern kind of changed. I was asking, ‘Do 
you want to come out?’ And he was like, ‘No.’ We let him go a little bit, but you can see those two working together was at a high level against a very good team.”
The win snapped a two-game losing streak for the Mavs as they improved to 33-31, while the Sixers dropped to 40-22.
When Doncic wasn’t frustrating the Sixers, Irving stepped up and ran circles around Philadelphia with his quick first step and fancy ballhandling skills.
“I just felt like I was taking advantage of the opportunities when (Doncic) was playing point guard and I was able to come off some screens and just be aggressive and be assertive,” Irving said. “I just think I was more ready and prepared for when he was going to pass me the ball.
“Sometimes they come late, sometimes they come early. I’m still getting used to it. But playing alongside Luka when he’s getting downhill and making all of us better, you just got to be ready to knock down shots. That’s what it’s going to come down to.”
In the first half, both Doncic and Irving let the Sixers know what it was going to come down to and how serious they were about pulling the Mavs out of the doldrums. By halftime, the Mavs led 71-67 and Doncic was 8-of-12 from the field with 25 points while Irving was 8-of-12 from the floor with 20 points.
“He was great,” Doncic said of Irving. “I mean, not just today. He’s been great since the trade.
“Like I said, we got to get stops, and playing with Kai is so easy, so it helps me a lot. So, it’s way easier.”
Things were so easy that the Mavs, who host the Phoenix Suns on Sunday at noon, mounted a 107-82 lead with 3:44 remaining in the third quarter. Several awe-inspiring plays occurred as the lead was building and building.
First, Irving wowed the crowd when he quickly bolted through a Joel Embiid-James Harden double-team, then soared and scored near the rim over Garland’s Tyrese Maxey, who finished with 29 points. Then, Doncic buried a three-pointer, Reggie Bullock (15 points) nailed one from downtown, Maxi Kleber knocked down back-to-back triples, and Doncic added another three-pointer.
“I think just (Doncic and Irving) understand they’re leaders of the team,” Kidd said. “They set the tone, not just finding each other, but playing off one another — their gravity being able to find their teammates.
“I thought Reggie there in the second half with the wide-open threes was big for us. Defensively, in this league right now everybody’s scoring and you’re talking about one of the best teams in Philly. I thought, again we did our best with Embiid and he still ended up with 35. That’s how good he is, and so this is a big win for us after the last two, but again we still have a long way to go.”
The Mavs, who shot 54.9 percent from the field and converted 25-of-48 attempts from three-point range, took a 110-91 lead into the fourth quarter. Those 25 made triples ties a Mavs franchise record which was set when they made 25-of-45 three-pointers on Feb. 12, 2021 against the New Orleans Pelicans.
But the Sixers opened the fourth quarter on a brisk 15-0 run in less than three minutes – 10 of those points came from Maxey – and climbed to within 110-106 of the Mavs.
The crowd got restless while recalling what happened this past Sunday at AAC when the Mavs led the Los Angeles Lakers by 27 points, only 
to lose that game, 111-108. As the Sixers got closer to the Mavs, Irving said his first thoughts were: “Not again. I take it extremely personal just starting off the fourth quarter, especially playing alongside different great players in this league.
“I just know when I’m out there I don’t want to lose the lead in a quick three-possession spurt, or they go on a 15-0 run or a 16-0 run. I just came to the bench and I just knew I had to be very open with my dialogue saying that this can’t happen again. We just have to hold each other accountable.”
Thanks to their dynamic duo, the Mavs quickly regrouped when Irving tallied six consecutive points, and Doncic added a three-pointer followed by a triple from Bullock, which bumped the Dallas’ lead up to 122-108. The Mavs stretched that lead to 131-115 with 3:09 remaining after a couple of free throws from Doncic and a triple from Irving.
But the stubborn Sixers wouldn’t go away quietly and went on an 11-0 run to climb within 131-126 of the Mavs after Embiid scored inside with 31 seconds left.
Irving closed out the scoring with a couple of free throws with 8.8 seconds remaining, helping the Mavs breathe a sigh of relief after that loss to the Lakers and another one to the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday.
“It’s unbelievable the things he does on the court,” Doncic said, referring to Irving. “Some movements I have never seen in m
y life.
“I think if I would have to pay to watch somebody it would be him for sure, because those movements and shots are incredible.”
The Mavs are now 2-4 when Doncic – he also collected 12 assists — and Irving are in the lineup.
Twitter: @DwainPrice
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