Mavs' Kyrie Irving Details Insane Finish Over Spurs' Victor Wembanyama: 'It Felt Good'
After falling down by 15 points in the first half, the surging Dallas Mavericks pulled off a massive turnaround en route to a 116-93 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday nigh. It was Dallas' sixth win in a row, which is the best mark in the Western Conference heading into the All-Star break.
Star point guard Kyrie Irving was a big reason for that turnaround, as he was fully engaged from the opening tip-off and finished with 34 points on 15-22 shooting to go with nine rebounds, seven assists, two steals and one block. During the third quarter, Irving drove the baseline on Spurs 7-foot-5 rookie Victor Wembanyama and finished an incredible acrobatic layup over his outstretched arm. The eight-time All-Star detailed that moment after the game.
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“For me personally, I remember the first game of the season, [Wembanyama's] entry to the league, he blocked my shot," Irving said. "He’s just a force down there, he has great timing, you can tell he just studies the game well. On the defensive end, there's not much they can’t do. For me to get the best of him on that one possession, it felt good. In the future I don't know how many more I’ll get on him just because of how much ground he covers. It was an exciting play – I'm grateful I converted it.”
It was far from the first time Irving converted a difficult bucket over a much-bigger defender. With his elite footwork and basketball IQ, he does it more than anyone else in the league.
“The first thing is no fear. Once you step in that paint, you take off. Especially off of one foot, or off of two feet, you want to safely land, be aware of the contact, know how strong the bigs are before you attach. Even if it’s a guard down there that’s a good defender there, it’s just to limit their athletic ability," Irving said.
"I have to be crafty around the rim, sometimes I can finish over guys, but a lot of them are trying to block shots when I get close to the rim. I like to play in that in between area, between 16 feet to like one foot, and be very efficient down there. When I see bigs down there, I feel like I have an advantage when I can use the rim as protection, and I know that I can convert it at a high rate.
"So that’s what I’m thinking when I go to the lane, just being creative but also go to finish. I had a lot of coaches growing up when I was playing on their teams, didn’t really like or appreciate my creativity in the air until I made my layups at a really efficient rate.”
The Mavs' season-best six-game win streak has coincided with Irving returning from a thumb sprain that kept him sidelined for six games. During the win streak, Irving is averaging 26.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 1.2 steals while shooting 57.6 percent overall and 42.9 percent from deep. With Luka Doncic also playing at an MVP level, the Mavs, along with their new additions of P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford, look poised to make a big push in the standings after the All-Star break.
