Basketball

“CJ McCollum Outclutched Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic”: Skip Bayless Berates Mavs Duo for Loss vs Zion Williamson-Less NOLA

Advait Jajodia
|PublishedMar 09, 2023

“CJ McCollum Outclutched Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic”: Skip Bayless Berates Mavs Duo for Loss vs Zion Williamson-Less NOLA

Kyrie Irving, Luka Doncic & CJ McCollum
Credits: USA Today Sports & Twitter (@NBAIndia)

After going 3-3 in their recent 6-game homestand, the Dallas Mavericks began their 2-game road trip in Louisiana. Being hosted by a Zion Williamson-less New Orleans Pelicans, Luka Doncic and co. were the favourites to grab a win before tip-off.

The Pelicans played much better than Jason Kidd’s boys anticipated. Despite Kyrie Irving and Doncic being in red-hot form, it was NOLA who emerged victoriously.

Due to injuries, Brandon Ingram and Luka left the contest during the 2^nd & 3^rd quarters, respectively.

Kai’s 4^th quarter heroics managed to cut Willie Green’s boys’ 19-point lead. However, Irving’s 27/6/4 performance wasn’t enough as the Mavericks suffered a 106-113 loss.

Also Read: Shannon Sharpe Commends Mavs Duo For Recording 62 Points in Win

Skip Bayless trolls Luka Doncic & Irving for getting “outclutched” by McCollum

For the Pelicans, while the likes of Trey Murphy III (16 points), Herbert Jones (14 points), and Jaxson Hayes (14 points) had valuable contributions, it was CJ McCollum who led the team to the win.

In the 34:41 minutes that he was on the floor, CJ managed to score a game-high of 32 points and also recorded 5 rebounds & 5 assists.

Skip Bayless, who believes that this All-Star duo of Kyrie & Luka won’t be successful, bashed the two guards for grabbing their 6th loss in 9 appearances together. Taking it to Twitter, the “UNDISPUTED” analyst wrote:

CJ outclutched Kyrie, Mr. 4th Quarter, in the 4th quarter. Luka, Mr. 3 Quarters, couldn’t finish this one because of his thigh injury. Dallas falls to 3-6 in games Kyrie and Luka have both played.

Zion Williamson hypes up teammate after win

Owing to the hamstring injury he sustained back in early January, Zion sat out for the 29th straight game.

However, that didn’t prevent him from enjoying McCollum’s sensational performance.

Hyping up his teammate, the former Duke Blue Devil commended CJ. Taking it to Instagram, the southpaw wrote:

Tuff Performance, Respect

Averaging 21.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 5.8 assists per game, McCollum has been leading the Pelicans in points, assists and threes this season.

Also Read: When Will Zion Williamson Return? Is Zion Hurt?

About the author

Advait Jajodia

Advait Jajodia, a seasoned NBA journalist, has had a passion for the game for over a decade. His journey from admiring Kobe Bryant's precision to being in awe of Stephen Curry's long-range mastery instilled a profound understanding of basketball. With a background as a two-time National-level player, Advait uses his experience on the hardwood to offer insightful analysis. Over three years of dedicated sports journalism has equipped the 21-year-old with a unique perspective, reflected in his prolific portfolio of 3,350+ articles.