Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic played a beautiful game against the Milwaukee Bucks last night. The contest ended 132-125, but for most of the game, Dallas held the lead. Though the Bucks won by seven points, the competition till the last minute was nail-biting, as the Bucks pulled ahead during the last thirty seconds.
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The game should have gone to the Mavs, but critical defensive mistakes cost the team too much down the stretch. Kyrie, while recognizing the same, gave a defensive breakdown on the Mavs performance during the post-game presser. Talking to the media, Kyrie said,
“We did a good job coming out of halftime with that energy and verve we normally have. We were playing good defensive principals, and they were making timely shots. A few times in that fourth quarter, I was out of position, or other guys were out of position defensively where we’re giving up some corner threes to some of their shooters and Giannis getting downhill, shooting a few free throws tonight.”
Kyrie Irving highlighted some defensive breakdowns by the Dallas Mavericks, resulting in open 3s for timely makes by the Milwaukee Bucks:
“We did a good job coming out of halftime with that energy and verve we normally have. We were playing good defensive principals, and they… pic.twitter.com/lDVrPTOu02
— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) November 19, 2023
Kyrie would end his analysis in an optimistic tone, telling the media,
“There were some difference makers in that second half where we can clean up. Now, we just have to get ready for Sacramento — definitely lessons learned here.”
But these words from Kyrie seemed nothing short of positive. The Mavs, who are currently sitting at the third spot, are playing winning basketball this season. Just like Kyrie said, most of the matches that the Mavs have lost this season, are due to defensive errors or defensive mismatches. If these holes are properly plugged, the Mavs might just be in the run to pull off an upset set this season.
Kyrie Irving’s 39 point outing
Kyrie Irving is a generation talent and possibly the most skilled player of all time. Irving, who was having a slow start at the beginning of the game, managed to pick it up later. The 2016 Champion had 39 on the night, with 18 points in the 3rd quarter alone.
Talking about his performance for the night, Kyrie had this to say,
“It’s basketball, so it’s a tale of two halves. I do my best not to get mentally bogged down or frustrated when the ball is not going in. Just trusting the work and coming out of halftime tonight.”
I asked Kyrie Irving about bouncing back from a slow shooting start, leading to him scoring 18 points in the third quarter and 39 total against the Milwaukee Bucks:
“It’s basketball, so it’s a tale of two halves. I do my best not to get mentally bogged down or frustrated when… pic.twitter.com/NA3f3T5k3P
— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) November 19, 2023
Both Kyrie and Luka had amazing outings last night. While Kyrie led the Mavs in scoring, Luka himself had 35 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists. The duo combined for 74 points for the night, more than half of the Mavs total points.
With Luka having an MVP season, and Kyrie looking committed and ready, the Mavs might just be the dark horse in this year’s Championship race.
