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Kyrie Irving leads the Dallas Mavericks to victory in his ‘incredible’ debut by scoring 24 points following his trade from the Brooklyn Nets, while taking over with Luka Doncic sidelined.
Kyrie Irving shined for the Dallas Mavericks, scoring 24 points in a 110-104 road win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
Irving led the Mavs in scoring and tied for the highest score on the court, just one night after former teammate LeBron James jumped to the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.
Without superstar Luka Doncic, Irving took control of the Texas franchise, adding seven rebounds and one assist to his tally.
“Unbelievable,” Irving said of his Mavs debut. ‘He had natural nerves here, so he was just trying to play cool, but he feels good just getting acclimated.
It’s been a long 96 hours, to say the least. I’m thankful that I get to play the game that I love with some guys that were selfless out there.’
Kyrie Irving scored a game-high 24 points while leading the Dallas Mavericks to a 110-104 road victory.
The 30-year-old produced moments of brilliance as he often does when he’s on the pitch.
While the pair may have to wait to team up, the former Nets star is looking to create a formidable partnership with Doncic.
“Just some high-end IQ basketball,” Irving said of what he craves the most.
“It’s simple when you play guys who are selfless and do the little things. They don’t care that other guys are aggressive around there.’
Earlier Wednesday, Irving and Doncic met for the first time as teammates and admitted their new partnership is “cool.”
You can see how good it is. So I really think this should be a lot of fun for us,’ Doncic told ESPN during the first quarter.
“Obviously the expectations are higher now… but we just have to make it work and I think we will.”
The 30-year-old did little to dampen expectations held by many in the big D dreaming of another championship, though after the game he wasn’t interested in exaggerating those hopes.
‘Just take it day by day, honestly. I’m just trying to get acclimated, like I said, and get everyone healthy. We’ll see where we go from there.
Irving was comfortable with his new teammates during the victory over LA Clippers
Kendrick Perkins sang the praises of Kyrie Irving after his impressive debut in Los Angeles
Before Irving walked off the court, he gave his debut jersey to Floyd Mayweather, who was in attendance at Crypto.com Arena.
It seems his Dallas debut couldn’t have gone much better, with head coach Jason Kidd also singing Irving’s praises after the game.
“Knowing Ky and just understanding his skill set and the new atmosphere, he’s excited to be here,” he said.
‘His leadership on the stretch of organizing everyone… a lot of great things as we go on this new journey with him. It’s going to be fun.’
ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins added to the praise for Irving, tweeting: “Good luck to any team in the Western Conference trying to stop a happy Kyrie Irving and skinny Luka in the postseason.” Honest talk!’
Luka Doncic and Irving are set to form a fearsome tandem once the former returns to the court.
Irving displayed all the skill that has made him a perennial All-Star throughout his career.
As expected, Irving arrived in style when he stopped at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, CA.