The Dallas Mavericks entered their Wednesday night matchup against the Portland Trail Blazers wanting to erase the lingering stench of their lackluster performance in their blowout loss to the Utah Jazz this past Monday. During that game, head coach Jason Kidd did not like the Mavs' defensive effort and communication; but on Wednesday, Kyrie Irving, who's playing in just his second game in his return from injury, made it a point to rally his teammates on that end of the floor.
In a complete role reversal from their Monday night defeat to the Jazz, it was the Mavs' turn to get the game won in the early goings of the contest. They led the Blazers by 10 to end the first quarter, and proceeded to take off from there as they claimed a 31-point lead heading into the halftime intermission, never looking back en route to a 126-97 win.
After the game, Kyrie Irving pointed out just how important it is for him to take initiative and lead by example as one of the elder statesmen of this high-octane Mavs squad.
“I can’t be passive at all, that’s not my personality. I really wanna come out aggressive and set the tone defensively and offensively. I'm grateful I got a chance to do that,” Irving said in his postgame interview, via Kyrie Center on Twitter (X).
Kyrie Irving got things going for the Mavs with a three-ball in their second possession of the game, which only served to set the stage for another offensive masterclass from Luka Doncic. Doncic finished with 41 points on 13-21 shooting, while Irving pitched in 29 points of his own on 10-19 shooting from the floor. Irving also added two steals for good measure, with Dallas finishing the game with a total of 12 steals as a team.
Getting it going offensively is not the problem for the Mavs; it's their defense that needs a lot of work. Even after their rousing win over the Blazers, they still rank 22nd in defensive rating, allowing 116.2 points per 100 possessions. Achieving more consistency on that end of the floor is what is paramount to their success moving forward, and it starts with the intensity they display from the opening tip.