“So Much Wizardry”: Paul George Picks Kyrie Irving’s COLDEST Play from Clippers-Mavericks Series

The Game 4 of the Dallas Mavericks-LA Clippers’ first-round matchup has been the highlight of this year’s postseason so far. The hard-fought battle eventually won by the Clippers 116-111 at American Airlines Center, provided a few iconic moments. The center stage, however, belonged to Kyrie Irving and his insane layup late into the fourth quarter,  that gave the Mavs a much-needed lead. On the recent episode of Podcast P, Paul George unpacked Irving’s “impossible layup” from his first-hand perspective.

The Mavs were trailing by 23 points at the end of the first quarter. It appeared that the Clippers were pulling away early on in the contest. However, Dallas managed to pull off an insane comeback, spearheaded by Kyrie Irving’s wizardry on the floor. The 32-year-old’s heroics culminated in an insane moment late into the game.

In the fourth quarter, with 2:14 left on the clock, Kyrie pulled off something that stunned the whole crowd. A circus layup with three Clippers defenders guarding him allowed the Mavs to take a one-point lead. PG-13, James Harden and Terance Mann were dumfounded by Irving’s insane ball fakes while hanging in the air. The fact that this shot came after the Mavs were down by 31 points at one point in the game made it even more special. Even opposition star Paul George couldn’t help but praise the insane move.

 

UNBELIEVABLE finish from Kyrie https://t.co/JTsucw4hxZ pic.twitter.com/q9vYrajqj9

— NBA (@NBA) April 28, 2024

On his podcast, PG said that Kyrie is one of the best finishers of all time in the sport, and this one layup is another example of that. He said, “I mean, that is just another touch to his greatness and how good he is and how the legend grows of one of the most gifted finishers in the league history.” The 33-year-old added that Kyrie being 6’2 should be seen as a blessing for the rest of the league, because if he were 6’7-6’9, we would be having a very different conversation about the GOATs of this game.

As impressed as he was with Kyrie’s Game 4 showdown, PG-13 believes that the craziest play from the Mavs star actually came in Game 2. He said, “The coldest play he did, was Game 2, in LA. He was coming down the right lane, he did like a fake pass…to the corner, I don’t know. He did like a fake pass, wrapped around, fake shot into a lob and I think someone missed the lob, but it was just so much wizardry going on.”

When someone with Paul George’s NBA experience fails to understand what happened on the court, that says a lot about Kyrie’s prowess on the court.

Kyrie Irving is used to being praised for his handles

When someone claims that Kyrie happens to have the best handles in the game, you will not see too many arguments against it. The Mavs star has lived up to the reputation of being one of the greatest ball-handlers ever. Even the great Allen Iverson co-signed that narrative during an appearance on Shaquille O’Neal’s The Big Podcast. He said, “He got the best. He’s the best…Kyrie will have you beat, and then bring it back and play with it. He’s toying with people.”

KYRIE IRVING pic.twitter.com/r4ki9DW8bv

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) April 28, 2024

Coming from someone who is also revered for his handles, it must mean a lot to Kyrie. But AI isn’t the only one who’s blown away by Kyrie. Infamous for being difficult to impress, the previous majority owner of the Mavs, Mark Cuban was in attendance for Game 4 and his reaction to Kyrie’s layup went viral. As soon as Kyrie put the ball in, Cuban had a jaw dropping moment, as he hugged his son in disbelief.