Mavs Film Study: How Kyrie Irving Pulled Off Insane 26-Point 4th Quarter

Dallas Mavericks superstar Kyrie Irving scored 26 of his 36 points against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the fourth quarter alone. How did he do it?

DENVER — Kyrie Irving put on a show during his Dallas Mavericks home debut. While the team lost 124-121 to the Minnesota Timberwolves, he scored 26 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter to rally the team back from a 26-point deficit. It was the most he ever had in a fourth quarter. He did so while shooting 11-12 from the floor, 3-4 from deep, and a made free throw.

“It was insane,” Mavs superstar Luka Doncic said. “All of the guys were just looking at each other wondering how he does that.

“It was unbelievable to see, and he really got hot.”

Irving is no stranger to turning his game up late in the game. He's even been called "Mr. Fourth Quarter" in his NBA career, for a good reason, too. Most will remember the iconic clutch shot he converted to help fuel the Cleveland Cavaliers' Game 7 win over the Golden State Warriors in the 2016 NBA Finals. However, he's routinely delivering in big moments for his team. 

As Irving gets acclimated with the Mavs, he has clearly emphasized playing within the flow of the team's offense in the early stages of the game. He has picked his spots throughout games before taking over in the fourth quarter. It's similar to his play style with the Brooklyn Nets. No player averages more points per game in the fourth quarter than Irving's 9.8 per game. 

"I try not to overthink it," Irving said regarding when he chooses to attack within the flow of the game. "Obviously, throughout the game, when I'm not shooting the ball as well as I would like – and the Timberwolves stretch out the lead – there's an antsy-ness that comes over me. But there's just an incredible, incredible resolve alongside my teammates to just stay poised and stay the course."

Irving explained: "Anything can happen in this league. I said it the other night, but there's no 20-point leads that are safe in our league anymore, so if we can put ourselves in a great position defensively and get some stops consecutively, we can be in the game with anybody. I really wanted this one tonight at home. I did. It just didn't go our way.”

The Mavs have maintained Doncic's regular playing time pattern after the Irving trade by playing him for the whole first and third quarter, then sitting him for the start of the second and fourth. With the Mavs trailing the Timberwolves 100-82 entering the fourth quarter, there was a clear need for Irving to take over by aggressively seeking scoring chances.

A key differentiating factor between the Mavs' personnel in the fourth quarter between the earlier parts of the game was the team's use of small ball. By deploying a traditional big man, especially a non-shooter like Dwight Powell or JaVale McGee, the Timberwolves were comfortable aggressively doubling the ball on ball screen and handoffs, disrupting the team's ability to attack. 

Irving's first scoring possession of the fourth quarter resulted from him initiating the offense and being engaged deeply off the 3-point line. With lots of space to work with, he blew by the on-ball defender to attack the paint, while evading a help defender to make a tough, hanging finish on his way down. 

That play in the clip above is a helpful example of the value provided by Josh Green's progression in his shooting development. Rudy Gobert is less than a year removed from not even guarding Green on the 3-point line to favor protecting the paint. Had he been able to do so in this game, Irving surely wouldn't have had the circumstances to finish in the paint. Overall, it shows the value of the small ball group's spacing. 

Irving showcased part of what makes him such a special closer on his second scoring possession of the fourth quarter. With congestion on the right side of the floor, he made a superstar play attacking going left. He played through contact early on a drive against the bigger Jaden McDaniels to manufacture leverage, then used a short-range step-back from along the baseline to get a clean look. 

With Irving being the lone superstar on the court, the clear focus in semi-transition situations is to make him see an extra defender early in the play. Irving identified Josh Green exiting to the corner as Gobert stayed in the paint, prompting him to make a behind-the-back pass and cut through to the weak-side. 

The rest of the play featured Green making a play on a drive down the middle of the floor. Irving regained possession after Green passed out of his drive. With Vanderbilt attempting to jump the pass, Irving had a prime chance to attack baseline and he evaded the help defense to get into a floater at the front of the restricted area. 

The Mavs continued to emphasize playing at a faster pace by pushing in transition when the opportunities arose. With the explosive Green filling the wing, Irving passed it to him for a finish attempt. Gobert was in the paint after running the floor and his presence was enough to impact Green into finishing a tough, acrobatic attempt. Irving stayed attentive to follow the miss for a putback. 

In another display of pushing the pace, Irving made a superstar play that you wouldn't see from other members of the roster, including Doncic. Irving flowed right into a pull-up 3-pointer at the top of the key despite having to evade McDaniels for just enough of a window to get the shot off. It was a great display of Irving's elite ball handling and ability to stop on a dime before getting into his shot. 

Simply playing fast to hunt transition scoring chances wasn't going to be an option on all of their plays, but it wasn't needed for the Mavs. After an inbounds pass, Irving used a ball screen from Reggie Bullock to draw Mike Conley on a switch, forcing Anthony Edwards off of him. With the shot clock winding down, Irving had to attack. 

Conley attempted to round off Irving's drive to funnel him into Gobert, who was helping in the strong side corner, but Irving used a fake spin to evade Gobert and to play through Conley. Turning a late clock possession into a favorable finish attempt given those circumstances can mostly only be done by a superstar.

Doncic had checked back into the game before Irving's next scoring play. After bringing the ball up as the initiator, Doncic passed to Irving in the middle of the floor for him to attack in a single coverage situation out of triple-threat. With a fully spaced out offense, Irving attacked hard right to get into the paint for a floater.

To this point, Irving was already on a heater and continued to make big plays. The Mavs took the ball out after a made basket and instead of having Doncic initiate the play, Irving brought the ball up and immediately went into a pull-up from deep. Austin Rivers had his hands by his sides for just long enough for Irving to get into the shot.

Doncic trusted Irving to make a big play once again by giving him the ball in the middle of the floor and just getting out of the way. Watch Irving's approach on this play in his size-up dribble combination. He goes between the legs a few times before and steps forward to sell a drive left before wrapping the ball around his back to create a drive right, resulting in a short-range pull-up jumper. 

Despite being a 6-foot-2 guard, Irving recorded another putback in the quarter. He connected with Theo Pinson by hitting him with a pass on a 45-cut. Pinson was unable to convert the layup, but Irving made sure to follow it up to successfully finish off the play. Creating and capitalizing on a second chance opportunity proved to be significant for the Mavs to keep them in it. 

There was another second chance opportunity created for the Mavs' offense, but the next one was made possible by Green aggressive crashing the glass from the perimeter. The ball managed to find Irving, who was spacing the floor from behind the 3-point line, resulting in a made 3-pointer. The result cut the game to two with under 30 seconds remaining in regulation. 

“I think he just understands the game and when it’s time to go,” Mavs coach Jason Kidd said, referring to Irving. “You saw that in the fourth quarter. (In the three games he played last week) on the road trip he picked his spots, trying to use his teammates early, but also getting in rhythm.

“That’s what makes him special. Just to see the guys — not just Kai – but the guys didn’t quit. We kept playing and found a way in the fourth quarter to make a game of it.”

The clutch heroics of Irving afforded the Mavs a legitimate chance to win the game. However, Doncic and Irving both wanted to defer to one another, but the end result was a disjointed play that ended without a shot even going up. Dallas trailed by three on the final play and had a chance to tie.

Irving revealed the plan was to make the pass to Doncic near the nail for him to attack for a quick two-point basket. After Pinson had lofted a high arcing pass to Doncic, McDaniels knocked the ball away and the play was broken. The team opted not to call timeout since Kidd viewed it as a chance to generate an open looked amid chaos. 

"I am still trying to emotionally recover. It is still so raw. I would have at least liked to get a shot up," Irving said of the Mavs' final play. "Obviously, with Luka taking it in the backcourt on that steal attempt, it messed up our spacing. We were going for a quick two. That was the plan. It didn't end up going that way and I should have given Luka more spacing. 

Irving explained: "I thought I had a shot attempt the second time he drove and kicked, and then I expected Theo to be in a spot. It was the end of the clock, adrenaline was running high, anything can happen. I have to get a shot up if anything, or allow Luka to have some space to get a shot – not turn the ball over in that situation. It's on me to be smarter in those situations..."

The Mavs have now lost two straight games with disjointed execution on the final offensive play in a a one possession contest. Dallas' next and final chance achieve a victory to snap its recent slide will be on Wednesday against the Denver Nuggets.

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