Friday's marquee matchup between the Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Lakers was not short in action. As a matter of fact, it needed a last-second Maxi Kleber triple to decide a winner. That turned out to be the Mavs, who escaped with a 111-110 win over a LeBron James-less Lakers side in the most dramatic of fashions.
Kyrie Irving went off against LA in a majestic performance, which was exactly what the Mavs needed amid Luka Doncic's injury absence. Kyrie finished with a game-high 38 points on 14-of-23 shooting, to go along with six rebounds, six assists, and five triples in 39 minutes of action.
It was Maxi Kleber that emerged as the hero of the day, though, after hitting a game-winning trey at the buzzer to break the hearts of Lakers fans everywhere. The Mavs players were totally hyped amid Keleber's heroics, and it prompted quite a post-game celebration from them:
“It was fun,” Irving said, via Dwain Price of NBA.com. “It was a great celebration as a team. I think J-Kidd was in the pile, right? I think he forgot he was a player for a second. That’s the way we’ve got to celebrate as a team because we know how hard we’re working.”
Kyrie also said that he's just delighted to see Kleber's heroics celebrated by both the team and the fans:
“I’m glad that it worked out for Maxi,” Irving said. “I felt like that (game-winning three-pointer) was a redemption shot for him as well because he was putting a lot of pressure on himself after that turnover in San Antonio, and rightfully so.
“As hoopers and players, we really want to take care of the basketball at the end of the game and win. So I think he got a chance to do that (Friday) and we came out again on top.”
Because of their win, the Mavs were able to increase their advantage over the Lakers to two games. Dallas is now sixth in the West with a 36-35 record.
Follow Us
Subscribe