Most importantly for the clutch-weary free-throw-shooting Mavericks, he hit both of his foul shots, cushioning Dallas’ 122-114 victory and ensuring the Kings’ torrent fourth-quarter comeback attempt didn’t completely erase a once-24-point advantage.
In his second game since an abrupt trade from the Brooklyn Nuggets paired him as Luka Doncic’s co-star, Irving (24 points, 10 assists, three rebounds and one steal in 35 minutes) led seven Mavericks in double-digit scoring and powered the team’s third consecutive win without Luka Doncic (right heel contusion).
With the Mavericks hopeful Doncic will return Saturday for a back to back rematch in Golden 1 Center, many viewers and fans ended Friday wondering: How dazzling will the Mavericks’ offense become when they can add their leading MVP candidate to the mix?
Perhaps Sacramento coach Mike Brown should’ve known.
He served as Cleveland Cavaliers head coach during the 2013-14 season, Irving’s second in the NBA, and Brown often marveled at the finesse and dribbling skills the young guard out of Duke possessed.
“I’ve been around a lot of great players and he did things that a lot of people have never seen do before,” Brown said, “from his ball handling ability to being as small as he is but being able to finish at an elite level in traffic.
“Obviously being able to finish at the rim, his medium game was off the charts, and then his ability to shoot the long-range ball is fantastic. … If you look at pound-for-pound who’s the best one-on-one player — I don’t have all the answers, this is just my personal opinion — he’s got to be right up there with the best of them, if he’s not the best.”
The Kings’ 24th-ranked defense (allowing 116 points per 100 possessions entering Friday) made their head coach look particularly prescient.
The Mavericks topped their 41-point first quarter Wednesday against the Los Angeles Clippers with a 45-points opening period Friday to open a 20-point lead. That marked the first time in franchise history the team scored more than 40 points in consecutive first quarters — and the production came without Doncic, who leads the league in average first-quarter scoring this season (11.6 points).
They followed with a 74-56 lead at halftime — their highest scoring first half of the season — and passed 100 points by the end of the third.
While Irving’s overall statistics might have popped like some of Doncic’s historic lines this season, his offensive gravity became clear.
If the Kings moved extra defensive attention toward Irving, the Mavericks’ other players gained more room to shoot, drive and kick passes to keep the defense off balance — a strategy the Mavericks are eager to date opponents to deploy when Doncic and Irving share the court soon.
Irving matched his four assists from his Mavericks debut Wednesday in the first six minutes Friday, while Josh Green — whom general manager Nico Harrison and coach Jason Kidd declared Friday will be the team’s third ball handler down the stretch — scored finished with 17 points (7 of 12 shooting), seven assists and four rebounds in a team-high 38 minutes.
Dallas capitalized without Irving on the floor, too.
Christian Wood, who declared extra motivation after the Mavericks shopped him before the trade deadline Thursday, tallied 13 points (5 of 6 shooting) in his first five minutes, playing off the bench as the Mavericks’ third center behind Dwight Powell and JaVale McGee.
Wood’s flurry of 3-pointers, mixed with crafty passes to teammates in the paint, started 50 seconds after Irving first subbed out with 4:01 remaining in the opening period.
But Wood finished 0 for 6 for the remainder of the game, a drop in efficiency that embodied the Mavericks’ sluggishness through most of the fourth quarter.
The Kings compiled a 14-3 run early in the fourth quarter to cut Dallas’ lead to 104-96 with 7:42 remaining, the first time the margin hit single digits since 8:12 into the game.
A putback dunk by All-Star forward Domantas Sabonis shrunk the Mavericks’ lead to 107-100 a few minutes later, but thanks to a key 3-pointer from Reggie Bullock and an offensive rebound and free throws from Irving, Sacramento never pulled closer.
With just two fast-break points against the Kings, the Mavericks didn’t create as many as their 27 (season-best) Monday vs. Utah and 24 (third-most) Wednesday vs. the Clippers. But they transitioned from defense to offense with a quicker pace and showed crisper ball movement without Doncic’s typical dose of isolation looks and methodical set-ups in the post.
That’s not to say the Mavericks are better served with the NBA’s leading scorer and their do-it-all candidate on the bench in Jordan Brand sweat suits.
Kidd relished having Doncic participate in the team’s shootaround walkthrough Friday morning, the first time he took the court with Irving to walk through offensive sets and defensive concepts.
Still, Doncic’s reinsertion to the starting rotation — the Mavericks hope as soon as Saturday — should prove fascinating as Kidd and his staff retool the offense around an All-Star backcourt and with Green and rookie Jaden Hardy (12 points) likely to receive more playing time, too.
“We don’t want to confuse everyone,” Kidd said of changing the offense with Irving’s addition, “and I think Kai’s IQ and maturity (allows him) to understand to keep most of the sets, but we will add one or two that he’s played out of that the guys will be able to pick up. It won’t be hard. LD understands all the offensive plays, so it won’t be hard for him.”
Bring on the rematch Saturday.
