Mavs’ Kyrie Irving Explains Success Against Sixers’ Joel Embiid

Kyrie Irving talked about his offensive success going against Joel Embiid after Thursday's game in Dallas.

Thursday night marked the 11th time Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid faced Dallas Mavericks All-Star Kyrie Irving. While the two stars have faced off against each other many times, it was the first outing Embiid met Irving in a Mavericks uniform.

The last time the two stars went toe to toe was on January 25, when Irving was with the Brooklyn Nets. At the time, the Sixers defeated Brooklyn 137-133. Kyrie Irving had himself a stellar outing, dropping 30 points and dishing out ten assists in the four-point loss.

After that late January game, Irving referred to Embiid as one of the “best of the best” in the league today and felt proud that he was able to make some big plays while driving against Embiid, who has established himself as one of the NBA’s dominant rim-protectors. On Thursday, in a Mavs jersey, Irving looked forward to facing that challenge once again.

In a game where he scored 40 points in 42 minutes, a lot of Irving’s production came from deep. As he attempted eight shots from beyond the arc, Kyrie produced 18 of his points from three, drilling 75 percent of his attempts.

Five of his other successful shots came from mid-range, with five of his other makes coming at the rim. Of those non-three-pointers, Irving put his skills to the test against Embiid on four of his makes. After the game, he explained his strategy going against the big man.

“Make them dance, baby… Make them dance,” said Irving. “Nothing like a big looking at your eyes and you're coming full speed at them as a guard, or you have a change of pace. As great as a defender Joel is, when I saw him pick and roll a few times, you just gotta make him work. Good thing the pull-up was working today. So I was working before the game and the last two days, just getting to my spot. So, I’m glad it worked out well tonight.”

Irving was key to a notable Mavs win. With Irving scoring 40 and his backcourt co-star Luka Doncic putting up 42 points, the two stars led the way for a 133-126 Dallas victory. 

Embiid and the Sixers will now look to avoid falling into a two-game hole as they are set to take on the Milwaukee Bucks Saturday night. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.