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DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Utah Jazz by a final score of 110-102 on Monday night. Dallas now holds a 2-1 record to begin the 2024-25 season. The Mavs utilized a team effort in the win, as six Mavericks recorded double-digit points in the game. Kyrie Irving led the way with 23 points and nine assists, but he believes the Mavs are “nowhere close” to their “championship habits.”
“It's just finding the flow of the game… Just depends night to night, but specifically beginning of the season, man,” Irving told reporters after the game. “It's not just our team. You look around the league, it hasn't been the best of possessions for a lot of people. Guys are getting back into the swing of the game. Also, the whistle is a little bit different, too. I feel like they are letting us play a little bit more at the beginning of the season… So we adjust to them.
“Outside of that, I feel like we're heading in the right direction but we still got to be better, man. We're nowhere close to our championship habits right now. We're in that developmental stage, trying not to get too frustrated, but also stay encouraged, stay motivated, get our legs underneath us. When that happens I feel like we will be fine.”
Kyrie Irving, Luka Doncic developing chemistry with new Mavericks
Kyrie Irving is one of the best players in the NBA. Luka Doncic, Klay Thompson and Irving are looking to lead the Mavericks to a deep postseason run once again. This time, though, they want to take care of business in the NBA Finals and earn a championship.
In order to accomplish that goal, it will require a complete team effort. Doncic and Irving are among the best playmakers in the league, and they are beginning to build chemistry with their teammates. On Monday, as mentioned, the Mavericks had six players record double-digit points, and Irving and Doncic finished the game with 17 total assists combined.
Spencer Dinwiddie is technically a new player despite previously playing for the Mavericks. Still, he had not played for the team since the 2022-23 season before this year. He enjoyed a strong game on Monday, scoring 11 points and going 3-4 on his three-point attempts.
Klay Thompson wasted no time developing chemistry with the Mavs. He has played well so far to begin his Mavericks career, as he scored 18 points while making four three-pointers in the win against the Jazz.
The offense begins with Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic, though. Both players are capable of scoring 30 or more points if necessary. They can also impact the game in multiple different ways, however. That was evidenced on Monday as Doncic made a big impact despite only scoring 15 points. Irving played especially well while scoring 23 points, as he finished with a plus-minus of plus-13.
The Mavericks will play the second of a back-to-back on Tuesday night in Minnesota against the Timberwolves.
