Kyrie Irving on Mavs Losing to Undermanned Teams: ‘Can’t Make This a Habit’

After a disappointing loss in Tuesday against the Memphis Grizzlies, Kyrie Irving reflected on being hit in the mouth by a lesser opponent.

The Dallas Mavericks failed to win their fourth straight game on Tuesday night as they fell to the undermanned Memphis Grizzlies, 120-103. 

This loss for Dallas felt even more disappointing as Memphis was without both Ja Morant, who suffered a season-ending labral tear in his right shoulder, and reigning Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr, but former TCU Horned Frog Desmond Bane held down the fort with 32 points.

After the embarrassing loss, Kyrie Irving spoke on the distraught atmosphere in the locker room. 

“It is part of it,” Irving said. “When you are as competitive as this group is, and I think a lot of my peers could speak to the same thing, when you go into that locker room and you feel like you’ve had a bad loss, took your bumps and bruises in a game like tonight, a lot of minutes being played and a lot of bodies being thrown out there, just to break the rhythm of the other team and it doesn’t happen, you feel like you let yourself down, let your teammates down, let the coaching staff down, and let the fans down.” 

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Prior to the loss, the Mavs were rolling, winning three straight games with Irving looking like himself again following missing 12 games due to a right heel contusion. 

“It is easy to feel [like you let people down], and rightfully so. I feel like that way now, just knowing that our effort could have been better,” Irving said. “But, like you said, this is part of the ebbs and flows of the season.” 

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“We just don’t want to make this a habit. We play against some of the best teams in the league, we play well, we’re up and our focus level is there,” Irving said. “[But], then we play against a team that doesn’t have Jaren [Jackson Jr.] and Ja [Morant] and they take advantage of their opportunity and hit us in the mouth the whole entire night.”

Without Luka Doncic in the lineup on Thursday night due to an ankle sprain, Irving and the Mavericks will have the tough task of trying to get back on track against Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks. 

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