Kyrie Irving Calls 43 Points Against Nuggets an 'Empty Performance'

Not much blame should be placed on Irving for his performance against the Denver Nuggets, but he's taking it anyways

Nov 10, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving (11) controls the ball in the second half against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

The Dallas Mavericks fell to the Denver Nuggets 122-120 on Sunday night, their second straight loss in the clutch despite having a lead with a minute to go. Kyrie Irving's final shot hit back iron, but he was otherwise spectacular in this game, finishing with 43 points, five assists, and five rebounds on 17/22 shooting from the floor and 6/8 from three.

Even with his superb play, Irving isn't taking any moral victories. After the game, all he could talk about was their failure on defense and how he was upset he missed the game-winner.

READ MORE: 3 Takeaways From Mavericks' Clutch Loss to Nuggets

"Yeah, it was an empty performance," Irving said in his press conference following the game. "It feels good to get some shots to go in; it was a great and efficient game. But at the end of the day, I closed out to Michael [Porter Jr.], kept him down and on his right hand. I ran him off the three-point line, but he just got in that lane and had a nice floater. But our defensive scheme could be better. We just got to keep talking to each other, but I do feel like our communication was great tonight. Especially when we were making mistakes, we would come up with a good rhythm."

Irving has been the most consistent player for the Mavericks this year, shooting 53.9% from the floor and an absurd 55.2% from three on close to six attempts per game. But the miss at the end of the game will be what people remember most from this.

"We'll look at the film, but this one right here — it was definitely emotional," Irving continued. "Just because I felt like we had a great chance to win. Missing a game-winner sucks, but the leading possessions up to that — I feel like we could have been better organized. Luka [Doncic] had an iso, which isn’t terrible for us, but him and Peyton Watson, we were just very stagnant down the stretch. So yeah, man, just gotta be better, that’s all."

Those last few possessions of the game were maddening, especially the play he mentioned with Luka. Dallas had the ball with a little over a minute remaining and was up by two with a chance to put the game away. Instead, the offense cleared out for Luka, who tried to isolate against Denver's best defender and missed a bad pull-up contested three. Irving's potential game-winner wasn't a better shot opportunity, but at least that was with six seconds to go in the game, not a bailout shot-clock beater.

The Mavericks will travel to San Francisco to play the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday, a homecoming for Klay Thompson.

READ MORE: Mavericks Fall to Nuggets 122-120 Despite Kyrie Irving's 43 Points

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