Kyrie Irving, Luka Doncic Lead Dallas Mavs Blowout Victory vs. New Orleans Pelicans

The Mavs used strong performances from Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic to achieve a blowout victory over the Pelicans in part of a two-game mini-series.

NEW ORLEANS — In the first of two matchups involving the Dallas Mavericks and New Orleans Pelicans, the Mavs comfortably achieved the victory, with 136-124 being the final score. As a result, Dallas improved to 8-2 through 10 games, while the Pelicans dropped to 4-6. 

Early on, the Pelicans focused on shrinking the floor by playing off Derrick Jones Jr., to make it challenging for the Mavs' playmakers to get into the paint. He came up empty on his early attempts, but the team's superstars had no issue getting it going despite New Orleans' approach.  

"I think we're playing unselfish basketball. We're just sharing the ball," Doncic said. "We knew they would have the low-man early there, so there were a lot of corner 3s for us. We got them up 53 [3-point attempts]. Not all of them, but most of them were really good shots. That's what we have to do [going forward]."

The Pelicans' largest leads occurred late in the first quarter after Brandon Ingram converted on short-range pull-up jumpers, putting the Pelicans up by three points at numerous moments. The Mavs quickly responded, leaning on Kyrie Irving to lead the bench unit. After Irving's bank shot to put Dallas up 28-27 with 1:08 left in the period, the team never tied or trailed again. 

Playing at an up-tempo pace with flow in the half-court, the Mavs proved too challenging for the Pelicans to solve. Irving already reached double-figure scoring in the first quarter, with Doncic not far behind, scoring eight. Both players continued their momentum throughout the night and combined for 37 points at the half, with Irving scoring 22 and Doncic adding 15. 

"It's easy to play that way when you're not turning the ball over, and you're keeping the other team off the free throw line, you're getting stops consecutively, and you have spurts of four or five minutes where a play isn't being called," Irving said. "It's a constant pace; we're running to our spots and remembering the little details that make us a great squad.

"Individually, we have talent, but as a team, collectively, we're all hitting on cylinders like tonight. You can see a result of that, so it felt good. It's definitely an easy pace to play. But the question we always have to answer is, do we want to be consistent with it? And that starts with our preparation and how much rest we get."

There was a significant first-half disparity in turnovers, with the Mavs only giving it up four times compared to the Pelicans' 11 giveaways. Dallas scored 12 points off turnovers, creating a nine-point advantage. By switching and sagging off Zion Williamson, New Orleans struggled to get Dallas' defense out of rotation. 

Dallas Mavericks superstar Kyrie Irving finishing a layup against the New Orleans Pelicans.  / Matthew Hinton-USA TODAY Sports

The defensive game plan for the Pelicans shifted after the break, often attempting to blitz Doncic and Irving when operating out of ball screens to force the pass to the short-roll. It was short-lived, with the Mavs breaking their approach. With Dallas' hot shotmaking, the Pelicans never found a scheme that consistently worked. 

After continuing to build on their advantage, the Mavs' lead grew as large as 25 points late in the third quarter using a fourth made 3-pointer from Doncic. Dallas scored 42 points on the board in the third quarter alone after scoring a combined 67 points during the first half. 

The Pelicans had no return after trailing by such a significant margin in the fourth quarter. The Mavs led by as many as 29 points without needing Doncic even to take the floor in the final period. Instead, Olivier-Maxence Prosper and Seth Curry took the floor for Irving and Tim Hardaway Jr. midway through. 

The Mavs managed to keep all players under 30 minutes of playing time as a result of being able to clear the bench late. Irving finished with 35 points, six rebounds, and seven assists, with a season-high seven made 3s. Doncic chipped in 30 points, four rebounds, and nine assists. 

“Everyone is being unselfish," Mavs coach Jason Kidd said. "When you look at Luka (Doncic) and Kai (Kyrie Irving), Kai didn’t have to finish the Clipper game tonight. Luka did not have to finish this game. So, I thought our two leaders set the tone: just unselfish, playing with the pass, and then our pace is quicker than what we are used to.

"So, the guys have really bought into it and trusted that we can play faster and also play with the pass," Kidd explained. "So, you saw that tonight, and then you saw that against the Clippers.”

There were other standout performances for the Mavs, including double-figure scoring outings from Tim Hardway Jr. (15 points) and Josh Green (13 points). 

Doncic and Irving were coming off a dominant scoring performance in their previous outing, leading the Mavs' to a 144-126 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. The two combined for 71 points, with Doncic scoring 44 points and Irving adding 27. 

The Mavs and Pelicans return to action on Tuesday, with the next matchup being part of the NBA In-Season Tournament.