Mavs’ Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving Combine for 70 Points in 3 Quarters: ‘We Were Locked In’

Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving dominated the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night in just three quarters of action as the Dallas Mavericks got back in the win column.

Dalton Trigg | Jan 4, 2024

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Dallas Mavericks

Luka Doncic is on an absolute tear this season, putting up MVP-level numbers and coming off historic monthly averages in December. However, every superhero needs their sidekick, and the injury-plagued Dallas Mavericks appear to finally have the best version of Kyrie Irving back.

In his second game back from a 12-game absence due to a heel contusion, Irving put up big numbers alongside Doncic as the Mavs blew out the Portland Trail Blazers, 126-97. The star duo combined for 70 points through just three quarters of action — 41 for Doncic on 13-21 shooting overall and 4-7 from deep, and 29 for Irving on 10-19 overall and 4-8 from deep.

"[It was a] great response to what happened in Utah. [It was] just what we talked about this morning and being able to be focused. I thought the ball movement was great. Defensively, again, [it] was really, really good. We were locked in,” head coach Jason Kidd said.

“A lot of great performances by our two stars to get us started. Kai [Kyrie Irving] didn't wait tonight. He was aggressive. And then Luka [Doncic] was Luka."

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After laying an egg in Utah to start 2024, the Mavs made sure to bring the correct energy to American Airlines Center on Wednesday as they started their season-long seven-game homestand. Irving taking on more of an aggressive mindset played a big role in Dallas getting back in the win column.

"I think it started at the tip of the game in setting the tone, setting our mentality in how we wanted to play for the rest of the game,” Irving said.

Mavs' Luka Doncic & Kyrie Irving Dominate in Rout of Trail Blazers

“I feel like when we played against the Jazz, including myself, I didn't get off to a good start, so I just wanted to take it upon myself to galvanize the group and stay aggressive in those first few possessions and really get a good feel of where my body is and where my mind is and just live with the results."

Now at 20-15 on the season, the Mavs will have an opportunity to tack on another win against the Blazers on Friday before having a big test against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday. Dallas is 3-0 against Portland and will be going for the season sweep.

Published Jan 4, 2024

DALTON TRIGG

Dalton Trigg is the Editor-In-Chief for Dallas Basketball, as well as the Executive Editor overseeing Inside The Rockets, Inside The Spurs, All Knicks, and The Magic Insider. He is the founder and host for the Mavs Step Back Podcast, which is a proud part of the Blue Wire podcast network. Trigg graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi’s College of Business and Economic Development with a bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurship in 2016. After spending a few years with multiple Dallas Mavericks-related blogs, including SB Nation’s Mavs Moneyball, Trigg joined DallasBasketball.com as a staff writer in 2018 and never looked back. At the start of 2022, he was promoted to the EIC title he holds now. Through the years, Trigg has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, Mavs GM Nico Harrison, now-retired legend Dirk Nowitzki and many other current/former players and team staffers. Many of those interviews and other articles by Trigg have been aggregated by other well-known sports media websites, such as Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report and others. You can find Trigg on all major social media channels, but his most prevalent platform is on Twitter. Whether it’s posting links to his DBcom work, live-tweeting Mavs games or merely giving his opinions on things going on with Dallas and the rest of the NBA, the daily content never stops rolling. For any inquiries, please email Dalton@MavsStepBack.com.