Kyrie Irving found the bottom of the net on an incredible left-handed game-winning shot to give the Dallas Mavericks a 107-105 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Sunday. It was a huge victory for Dallas, as the Mavs are now tied for sixth place in the Western Conference. Irving's heroics are not anything new, and the stats support that claim.
Kyrie takes care of business in the clutch
Irving has reportedly scored or assisted on every buzzer-beater since joining the Mavericks via trade ahead of last year's trade deadline, according to MavsMuse on X (formerly Twitter). He clearly isn't afraid of the big moment. Of course, we have known that for a long time.
LeBron James led the Cleveland Cavaliers to their first championship in 2016. James deserves a lot of credit, but it was Kyrie who hit a huge shot that ultimately propelled the Cavs to the victory in Game 7.
Luka Doncic has been incredible for Dallas. Doncic is in the MVP conversation and is also a clutch player. However, Irving's performance sometimes gets overlooked as a result. But Kyrie is a superstar and that cannot be forgotten.
MavsMuse also shared a jaw-dropping fact after Irving's game-winning shot.
“March 17, 2023: Kyrie Irving assist to Maxi Kleber for a game winning buzzer beater.
“March 17, 2024: Maxi Kleber assist to Kyrie Irving for a game winning buzzer beater,” MavsMuse wrote on X.
Kyrie Irving can set up a teammate or take care of business on his own in the clutch. He knows what it takes to get the job done in the final seconds of a game.
“A majority of it is instinctual and comes from preparation for hours that no one sees,” Irving said of the shot. “I saw [Nikola] Jokic taking away my pull-up going left. I had hit one or two tonight, so I knew he was gonna come up, but I didn’t know he was gonna commit like that. He was forcing me inside the three-point line, so as soon as I felt him kind of behind me, I was like ‘Oh, I have my left hand it’s wide-open, why don't I go to it?'
“I think that's what happened [and] how I saw it. [It’s] just instincts.”
Kyrie Irving's clutch performance will excite Mavericks fans as playoffs loom
The Mavericks are preparing for the playoffs. They would love to clinch a top six spot for the postseason, of course. Irving and Doncic are going to do everything they can to help this team accomplish that goal.
Irving's heroics will excite fans for the postseason as well. Sunday's game had a playoff feel and both Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic stepped up without much trouble. The Mavs star-studded duo is going to be extremely difficult to contain in a playoff series.
“I feel like we match up with everybody well, especially on the defensive end,” Irving said after Sunday's victory. “We have the ability to switch one through five and we also have a foundational defense we’ve been going through pretty much the whole season. I felt like we just consistently worked on our communication and the trust that we have in the intangible skill sets to be able to stop teams. Then, we also have the skill sets offensively to dominate teams and really get out in transition, and not so much playing half-court and the iso game.
“If we get a few fast break points, if we score 15 fastbreak points, it’s gonna be a hard night for any team. We are gonna keep playing to our strengths and when it gets tough and we face a little adversity throughout the game, we’re able to slow the game down and throw it to the post or go to our comp plays.”
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