Mavericks Bench Had Funniest Reactions to Kyrie Irving's Four-Point Play

Mavericks center Daniel Gafford reacts to Kyrie Irving's four-point play in the fourth quarter of Dallas's victory over the Clippers on Friday night.
Mavericks center Daniel Gafford reacts to Kyrie Irving's four-point play in the fourth quarter of Dallas's victory over the Clippers on Friday night. / Screengrab Twitter @kyriecenterig

Dallas Mavericks star guard Kyrie Irving poured in 28 of his team-high 30 points in the second half to lead his team to a 114—101 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night at the American Airlines Center. But four of those points were more memorable than any of the others scored by Irving in the victory, which advanced the Mavericks to the Western Conference semifinals.

One fourth quarter sequence perfectly encapsulated Irving's offensive arsenal, as he put Clippers defender P.J. Tucker in a blender with a series of crossover dribbles and a sidestep, leading to a three-pointer, which Irving drilled, and a foul, which resulted in a made free throw from the Mavericks star.

The four-point play, which occurred with 5:38 remaining in the game and the Mavericks up by 20 points, left fans' and announcers' jaws on the floor. But the best reactions came from the Dallas bench.

The entire bench was electrified by the four-point play. But Mavericks center Daniel Gafford's reaction was priceless—and pretty much sums up what it looks like to watch Irving dribble a ball.

Irving averaged 26.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game while shooting 44.9 percent from three-point range in six games in the first round.


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Tim Capurso
TIM CAPURSO

Tim Capurso is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Prior to joining SI in November 2023, he wrote for RotoBaller and ClutchPoints, where he was the lead editor for MLB, college football and NFL coverage. A lifelong Yankees and Giants fan, Capurso grew up just outside New York City and now lives near Philadelphia. When he's not writing, he enjoys reading, exercising and spending time with his family, including his three-legged cat Willow, who, unfortunately, is an Eagles fan.