Kyrie Irving made his home debut for the Dallas Mavericks as the team dropped its second consecutive game on Monday night.
The Mavericks are now 0-2 with Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving playing together after falling to the Minnesota Timberwolves 124-121.
Dallas trailed by at least 10 points throughout most of the game — including a 20-point deficit in the third quarter — as Irving struggled with just 10 points.
As Irving broke out of his slump, so too did the Mavericks. The point guard scored 26 of his game-high 36 points in the fourth quarter as the Mavericks rallied to trim the lead to just two points with 28 seconds left.
That was when forward Josh Green mistakenly committed a foul that sent Minnesota point guard Mike Conley to the foul line, increasing the lead.
“Didn’t want the foul, but for some reason, Josh fouled,” head coach Jason Kidd told the media after the game.
“It’s a great learning experience for a player. Sometimes when we’re yelling ‘don’t foul,’ that can sound like ‘foul.’ It’s not a negative. He’s a young player, and he fouled, but that’s not the win or loss,” he continued.
Dallas trailed by three and called a timeout with 14 seconds remaining in the game. After bobbling the inbound pass, Doncic recovered, brought the ball up the floor, and made a pass to Irving at the top of the arc. However, neither player could get off a shot, and the clock expired as players scrambled for the loose ball.
“I trust those two are going to find a way,” Kidd said. “They were playing catch with one another, and so the next step is to figure out who’s going to shoot it, and that’s going to take a little time.”
Irving led all scorers with 36, while Doncic was the only other starter to score in double figures with 33. Christian Wood scored 24 points off the bench.
Guard Anthony Edwards led Minnesota with 32 points, while center Rudy Gobert added 21.
WHAT TO KNOW
— The Mavericks held a press conference to formally introduce new acquisitions Kyrie Irving and Markieff Morris prior to Monday’s game.
— ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the Mavericks are bringing in 37-year-old forward LaMarcus Aldridge for a workout. Aldridge has not played in the NBA this season but is a 16-year veteran and seven-time All-Star who averages 19.1 points and 8.1 rebounds. He is also a graduate of Seagoville High School in Dallas and played at the University of Texas-Austin.
— Dallas is now 31-28 on the season and in fifth place in the Western Conference. The Mavs are half a game ahead of the 7-seed New Orleans Pelicans, half a game behind the 4-seed Phoenix Suns, and tied with the 6-seed Los Angeles Clippers.
BY THE NUMBERS
— Kyrie Irving is averaging 28.3 points, 7.0 assists, and 4.8 rebounds per game since being acquired from the Brooklyn Nets on February 6. In the two games he has played with Luka Doncic, the pair have combined for 124 points.
— According to ESPN, Irving’s 26 points in the fourth quarter were the most he scored in one quarter in his career.
WHO SAID
— Kidd, when asked about the Mavericks’ struggles with interior defense, said:
“We’re here to score … We’ll figure that out. The way we competed there in that fourth quarter, everybody was small. So, interior defense is about your want and will.”
— Irving, reacting to questions about his future before the game, said:
“I would love to, just out of respect for you guys and everybody the rest of the season, just [not] have you continually asking me that because it just puts unwarranted distractions on us and our team. I’ve dealt with it before, and it’s very emotionally draining.”
NEXT UP
— Dallas (31-28) travels to Denver to take on the Western Conference-leading Denver Nuggets (40-18) at 8 p.m. CT on Wednesday before heading into the All-Star break.