Jaden Hardy Shines in Shorthanded Mavs' Win Over Blazers: 'I Feed Off Kyrie Irving's Energy'

Second-year guard Jaden Hardy nearly notched a triple-double as the Dallas Mavericks throttled the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night. Hardy credits Kyrie Irving's mentorship for keeping him ready.

After beating the Portland Trail Blazers by 29 points on Wednesday, many wondered if there might be a letdown performance by the Dallas Mavericks when the rematch at American Airlines Center happened on Friday, especially with Luka Doncic, Dante Exum and Dereck Lively II out with injuries.

Despite being shorthanded, though, Dallas cruised to yet another blowout win, this time to the tune of 36 points, behind the efforts of star point guard Kyrie Irving, who led the Mavs with 24 points in just three quarters of action, Sixth Man of the Year candidate Tim Hardaway Jr., who had 19 points, and second-year guard Jaden Hardy, who poured in 19 points of his own.

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“I feel like when I was out there, [I was] just slowing the game down and trying to make the right read. ... I feel like I can create and get in the paint easily, so [I was] just reading the defense and finding my teammates," Hardy said after nearly notching a triple-double with nine rebounds and nine assists – both career-highs.

“When guys go down, what we say in that locker room is ‘next man up’ mentality. [I'm] just sticking to that, being ready whenever my name is called.”

Kyrie Irving Leads Luka-Less Mavs to Blowout Win Over Trail Blazers

Hardy's playing time has been spotty this season, but when he does get to play alongside Irving or Doncic, he enjoys feeding off of their energy. On Friday, Hardy expressed how playing with Irving gave him ultimate confidence in the blowout win.

“It felt good to be out there with Kai [Kyrie Irving]," Hardy said. "He gives me confidence when I’m out there telling me to go. I feed off of his energy too, so just having him around and being around the young guys, we feed off him and Luka’s energy. I just feel good when I’m out there with him.”

Exclusive: Mavs' Jaden Hardy Speaks on Development, Kyrie Irving's Mentorship

For the season, Hardy is averaging 8.1 points while shooting just 38.2 percent overall from the field, but 35.0 percent from deep. Over his last five games, though, Hardy has taken advantage of getting more minutes due to the Mavs' injury situations, as he's averaging 14.6 points while shooting 44.6 percent overall and 37.1 percent on 3s in that span.