Seventeen victories in 19 matches. This is the balance sheet of Kyrie Irving against the Knicks for 10 years! “I love beating the Knicks” he once declared, and he hasn't lost to New York in six years. An improved record last night with an immense performance: 44 points, 10 assists to 15 out of 26 on shots, including 6 out of 10 from 3-point range. His best match of the season, and perhaps since his arrival in Dallas, and it coincides with the absence of Luka Doncic, injured in an ankle.
Above all, this puts an end to the invincibility of the OG Anunoby version of the Knicks. New York came close to pulling off the heist of the evening as they erased a 20-point deficit in the last quarter.
The best possible reaction after the failure against the Grizzlies
“The basketball gods were with us” Irving responded. “We played extremely well for most of the match. Then, in the last four or five minutes, they started scoring 3-pointers in the corners. They picked up the pace and our lead went from +12 to +2 or something like that. It's the type of match where you test yourself, and I think we grew tonight collectively. »
If Irving talks about the “Basketball Gods”, it's because he evokes this crazy possession where the Mavericks will string together several missed 3-point shots, but the ball will always fall into their hands! And it is Irving who will make the decision, by drawing the defense on him, to better serve Josh Green for the “dagger”. Ideal to forget the big hiccup at home against the Grizzlies.
“In a competition, it happens that we are humiliated…”, recalls Irving. “It’s part of the level of competition in the NBA. There are matches where we don't play at the level we would like. The big question is how you react. I think we reacted tonight. We used Tuesday as motivation, that’s clear.”
A leader by example
An Irving, author of 20 points in the 3rd quarter alone, and we will remember this passage where he scored 10 points in a row while the Knicks had returned to -6 several times. For Jason Kidd, the most important thing is that his All-Star point guard is a leader by example. Whether it's to give Josh Green the winning basket or to throw himself at balls that are lying around.
“We've already talked about it, but our stars dive on the floor during a regular season game. This shows the importance of their leadership, their situation and their mentality,” explains Jason Kidd. “They are leaders and that’s what leaders do, they have to sacrifice from time to time. Kai (Kyrie Irving) and Luka [Doncic] did it by lunging at the ball, managing to steal it and allowing us to swing the other way. Once again, Kai was excellent coming back from injury and we needed that.”
| 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 | 22 | 32 | 47.7 | 41.4 | 88.9 | 1.0 | 4.1 | 5.0 | 5.1 | 1.8 | 1.4 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 23.9 |
| Total | 692 | 34 | 47.2 | 39.2 | 88.5 | 0.8 | 3.2 | 4.0 | 5.7 | 2.3 | 1.3 | 2.5 | 0.4 | 23.4 | |
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.
