There was a hell of a lot of genius per square meter in Dallas for this Mavs-Nuggets between Luka “Magic” Doncic, Nikola “Joker” JokicAnd Kyrie Irving whose creativity we know in all circumstances.
It was ultimately the latter who was the great hero of the match with this “game winner” coming from nowhere with an unreal gesture: a left hand floater sent from outside the racket! Ironically, this basket from “Uncle Drew” was scored on the head of one of the other “UFOs” in the current NBA, Nikola Jokic…
Kyrie Irving on instinct
After the match, everyone involved in the match praised the brilliant inspiration of the Mavs leader, starting with his “new” teammate, Daniel Gafford, who is not ready to forget this memorable outcome.
“He’s a magician”, he said. “He’s a really gifted finisher, but finishing that far from the basket? I don't know if he's working on that sort of thing. I know he works on his left hand. When the ball went in, we just all went crazy.”
For Maxi Kleber, who has been working with him for a little longer, Kyrie Irving remains an outstanding creator. But it was more the context, on a shot at the buzzer against the NBA champion, which had the gift of astonishing him. “He is really talented and good with both hands. He does these kinds of incredible actions, it's just his specialty. But it’s still an incredible shot. So of course we find ourselves a little shocked when we see the ball go in,” he added.
The shot was incredible, and even Kyrie Irving was shocked after realizing what he had just done, later admitting to trusting his instincts. He didn't really have time to think because everything happened so quickly. And less than three seconds later, the entire American Airlines Center was exultant…
“I thought I was a little closer to the racket but when I saw the action again after the match, I was really quite far away,” he slipped. “Most of the action is instinctive, and it comes from spending hours preparing, when no one sees us. I saw Jokic prevent me from shooting off the dribble on the left. I knew he was going to come up on me, but I didn't think he was going to engage like that, and that he was going to force me to stay inside the 3-point line. As soon as I felt it was kind of late, I was like, 'Oh, I have a left hand too.' It's wide open, so why not use it? “.
Luka Doncic leaves the light
Congratulated for his “incredible shoot” by Mike Malone, the Nuggets coach who bowed to the talent of his opponent of the day, Kyrie Irving also received the compliments of the Dallas boss, Luka Doncic, who was able to slip away to let his teammate shine. While everyone expected the ball to come to him.
“That shot was incredible. I could not believe it “, confided the Slovenian, while Kyrie Irving praised the altruism of his teammate. “I want to give him a lot of credit for putting us in that position, and then allowing me to have that game winner at the end of the match.”
Author of 37 points for his return after missing Thursday's match against Oklahoma City, it was indeed Luka Doncic who had equalized with a 3-point shot a few seconds earlier. The tandem therefore worked wonderfully against the reigning champion. Enough to boost the whole team, in order to finish this regular season well.
| Kyrie Irving | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2011-12 | KEY | 51 | 31 | 46.9 | 39.9 | 87.2 | 0.9 | 2.9 | 3.8 | 5.4 | 2.2 | 1.1 | 3.1 | 0.4 | 18.5 |
| 2012-13 | KEY | 59 | 35 | 45.2 | 39.1 | 85.5 | 0.6 | 3.1 | 3.7 | 5.9 | 2.5 | 1.5 | 3.2 | 0.4 | 22.5 |
| 2013-14 | KEY | 71 | 35 | 43.0 | 35.8 | 86.1 | 0.7 | 2.9 | 3.7 | 6.1 | 2.3 | 1.5 | 2.7 | 0.3 | 20.8 |
| 2014-15 | KEY | 75 | 36 | 46.8 | 41.5 | 86.3 | 0.7 | 2.4 | 3.2 | 5.2 | 2.0 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 0.3 | 21.7 |
| 2015-16 | KEY | 53 | 32 | 44.8 | 32.2 | 88.5 | 0.8 | 2.1 | 3.0 | 4.7 | 2.0 | 1.1 | 2.3 | 0.3 | 19.6 |
| 2016-17 | KEY | 72 | 35 | 47.3 | 40.1 | 90.5 | 0.7 | 2.5 | 3.2 | 5.8 | 2.2 | 1.2 | 2.5 | 0.3 | 25.2 |
| 2017-18 | BOS | 60 | 32 | 49.1 | 40.8 | 88.9 | 0.6 | 3.2 | 3.8 | 5.1 | 2.0 | 1.1 | 2.3 | 0.3 | 24.4 |
| 2018-19 | BOS | 67 | 33 | 48.7 | 40.1 | 87.3 | 1.1 | 3.9 | 5.0 | 6.9 | 2.5 | 1.5 | 2.6 | 0.5 | 23.8 |
| 2019-20 | BRK | 20 | 33 | 47.8 | 39.4 | 92.2 | 1.1 | 4.1 | 5.2 | 6.4 | 2.7 | 1.4 | 2.6 | 0.5 | 27.4 |
| 2020-21 | BRK | 54 | 35 | 50.6 | 40.2 | 92.2 | 1.0 | 3.8 | 4.8 | 6.0 | 2.6 | 1.4 | 2.4 | 0.7 | 26.9 |
| 2021-22 | BRK | 29 | 38 | 46.9 | 41.8 | 91.5 | 0.6 | 3.8 | 4.4 | 5.8 | 2.8 | 1.4 | 2.5 | 0.6 | 27.5 |
| 2022-23 * | All Teams | 60 | 37 | 49.4 | 37.9 | 90.5 | 1.0 | 4.1 | 5.1 | 5.5 | 2.8 | 1.1 | 2.1 | 0.8 | 27.1 |
| 2022-23 * | BRK | 40 | 37 | 48.6 | 37.4 | 88.3 | 1.0 | 4.2 | 5.1 | 5.3 | 2.7 | 1.0 | 2.3 | 0.8 | 27.1 |
| 2022-23 * | DAL | 20 | 38 | 51.0 | 39.2 | 94.7 | 1.1 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 6.0 | 2.8 | 1.3 | 1.9 | 0.6 | 27.0 |
| 2023-24 | DAL | 45 | 34 | 49.3 | 41.7 | 90.6 | 0.7 | 4.3 | 5.0 | 5.2 | 1.8 | 1.2 | 1.7 | 0.5 | 25.4 |
| Total | 716 | 34 | 47.4 | 39.3 | 88.6 | 0.8 | 3.2 | 4.0 | 5.7 | 2.3 | 1.3 | 2.5 | 0.4 | 23.5 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
