Kyrie Irving returned to action and that was the beginning and the end of the good news for the Mavericks on Tuesday night.
The Denver Nuggets ruined the superstar guard’s comeback after missing five games with what Irving said was a bulging disc in his back. Jamal Murray dumped 45 points on the Mavericks and the Nuggets plowed ahead to a 31-point lead in the third quarter, then coasted to a 118-99 victory in the second of two meetings in three days at American Airlines Center.
Irving had plenty to say afterward, but the most important thing was that his back is feeling better although he said he and the Mavericks’ medical staff must pay attention to it and give it the proper maintenance.
“My back felt a lot better,” Irving said. “The last almost two weeks have sucked, to be real. I haven’t really had any back troubles before so when I got the MRI back and found out it was a bulging disc, I spoke to a few experts, some of my teammates, some of the guys on our coaching staff who have dealt with surgery or the maintenance of that.
“I just got to be very smart about it. But I’m grateful I got to go out and get some minutes. Tonight really felt like I just hopped off the couch and decided to play an NBA game. Obviously, it wasn’t the best performance for us from top to bottom. But grateful to be out there and got another game tomorrow.”
That would be in New Orleans and Irving said he plans on playing, although that decision will come on Wednesday.
“It’s a bulging disc in your back,” he said. “You just got to do your best to manage it. It’s not to the point where it’s bad enough where I need surgery, which I’m grateful to God. But I have the support of our medical staff. Just being smart about it. That’s it. Not being too cautious.
“I’m most likely going to play tomorrow and give it a go. And just keep trying to get my rhythm and get back in game shape. And go from there.”
It may take time, based on Tuesday, for Irving and the Mavericks to find their rhythm.
The Mavericks started their home stand a week ago with visions of grandeur. They won the first two games against the Los Angeles Lakers and Portland. But when Denver came to town, the good times waned.
The Mavericks finished 2-2 on their stay at AAC and will try to rebound in a tough back-to-back Wednesday night in New Orleans.
It cannot be worse than Tuesday was. The Mavericks lost the season series 3-1 to the Nuggets, which gives Denver the tiebreaker should the teams end up tied at the end of the regular season.
The Mavericks fell to 22-18. The Nuggets improved to 24-15. It was a remarkable scoring display by Murray in the first half with 32 points that staked the Nuggets to a 71-45 halftime lead. The Mavericks didn’t have enough firepower to eat significantly into that deficit in the second half.
The game was a stern reminder of what the Mavericks already know. Nothing will come easy for them this season. As defending Western Conference champions, they have the bull’s-eye on their backs every night.
Denver coach Michael Malone, who dealt with the same pressure last season after the Nuggets won the NBA title in 2023, said it’s a fact of life for teams that experience success at the highest levels. As great as those accomplishments may be, they mean nothing.
“The teams around you don’t give a damn,” Malone said of both of these teams’ past achievements. “Look at how deep the Western Conference is. I’ve been at Denver 10 years now and this is the deepest and most talented the West has been.
“We won a championship, teams retooled and knocked us out. Dallas went to the Finals last year, teams have revamped, gotten better. Really, no one cares about last year. It’s about today and about tomorrow. I think Dallas understands that.”
The best news for the Mavericks was that Irving appeared to show no signs of being hindered as he made his return without any minutes restrictions.
“Out for five games, it was good to have him back in uniform,” coach Jason Kidd said. “We have another one tomorrow so hopefully he plays in that.”
Odds are good that whatever happens in New Orleans can’t possibly be as bad as what happened Tuesday night.
It started with a 32-15 lead in the first half for the Nuggets and it never really got any better for the Mavericks, although the deep reserves made a cursory rally in the fourth quarter that got as close as 93-79 before the Nuggets pulled away again.
It was clear that Murray wanted to prove a point after he had a quiet game Sunday, when the Nuggets won 112-101. While Nikola Jokic had only 10 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists, a modest game by his standards, Murray took off.
“Murray definitely responded with the first hit,” Kidd said. “He was going early and often and we had trouble guarding him.
“This was a game that we typically don’t have. The group that finished the game played hard, got it down. But our energy and effort was low (at the start). We got a game tomorrow to respond.”
Irving in his return was like all the other Mavericks – off kilter. He finished with 11 points and did not shoot the ball well (4-of-18). But he had lots of company in that department as the Mavericks struggled collectively to find any rhythm offensively.
The Mavericks also lost Dereck Lively II to a sprained ankle just four minutes into the game.
“You just got to move on to the next one, regulate your emotions, give yourself and your guys some grace,” Irving said. “We got an unfortunate injury with D-Live tonight. We just got to get over the injury bug. And continue to push forward.
“It’s not going to be a perfect season. So everybody at home, stop expecting that. We’re in the middle of it and we’re dealing with it. We’re doing the best we can and we just got to stick together.”
X: @ESefko
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