On Wednesday evening, Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks picked up a huge road win in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinals series vs the Minnesota Timberwolves, immediately snatching home court advantage in the matchup. Doncic was brilliant in this one, but it was the play of Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving that really raised eyebrows in this one, as the multi-time All-Star came out much more aggressive than he had been up to this point in the playoffs, scoring 23 in the first half alone.
Both Irving and Doncic would finish with over thirty points on respectable efficiency from the field, continuing to cement their status as arguably the most lethal backcourt in the NBA today.
One person who went even further in his praise of the duo was none other than former Boston Celtics 2008 NBA champion Paul Pierce, who recently took to FS1's Undisputed to relay his thoughts on Doncic and Irving.
“This is the best offensive duo–not backcourt–offensive duo in NBA history,” said Pierce, via ClutchPoints on X, the social media platform formerly referred to as Twitter. “When we talk about the skillset of Kyrie, we already know. I've heard a number of NBA players say he's the most skilled player we've ever seen. Luka, he just led the league in scoring. You've got two guys capable of really going off for 60 points… I truly believe this is the best scoring duo that's ever been assembled.”
While a few duos throughout NBA history might have reservations about Pierce's claim (Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal, and even Irving and LeBron James, to name a few), it would be hard to argue that Irving and Doncic are at least the most lethal one-two punch that exists currently in the NBA landscape.
Can the Mavericks win it all?
The Mavericks have largely looked the part of a legitimate title contender so far during this postseason run. While Doncic hasn't been the best version of himself yet, he's getting closer and closer to that as things progress, even as he deals with several nagging injuries.
Irving, meanwhile, has been a bit of a strange story so far this playoffs, as he is still obviously more than capable of taking over games with unbelievable offensive stretches but at times has looked hesitant to do so, particularly at the beginning of contests. However, as previously noted, that was not the case on Wednesday night, as Irving came out looking for his shot against Anthony Edwards, who had previously (sort of) called him out prior to the matchup.
If they are able to get past the Timberwolves, the Mavericks in all likelihood would have a date with the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals, meaning that Irving would be going up against his old team for the second time since leaving them in the 2019 offseason.
However, first things first is getting rid of the Timberwolves. The Mavericks will continue that quest on Friday evening with Game 2, which is set to get underway at 8:30 PM ET from Minnesota, and will be carried by TNT.
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