Dallas Basketball

'Elite!' Mavs' Kyrie Irving's Clutch Fourth Quarter Helps Lead Dallas Over Wemby

After struggling shooting from the floor through the first three quarters, Kyrie Irving caught fire in the final 12 minutes to help lead the Dallas Mavs over Wemby and the Spurs on opening night.

Michael Mulford

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The Dallas Mavericks opened up the 2023-24 season with a road victory against Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs, 126-119 - and did so with some "elite'' work that benefitted Kyrie Irving's clutch contributions.

Dallas came out the gate on the wrong end of a 43-point first quarter outburst from the Spurs but the Mavs found their footing and hit several clutch baskets down the stretch in the fourth quarter, led by Luka Doncic and Irving, to clinch the win.

In Wednesday night's win, Irving finished with 22 points, two rebounds, six assists, and one steal on 10-of-24 shooting from the floor and 1-of-8 from 3-point range in 36 minutes.

"Some resilience. Some elite shot-making down the stretch," Irving said after the win. "I appreciate those guys in the locker room right now for picking me up. Much needed, much needed."

Irving struggled to find his rhythm throughout the game, but that elite shot-making came alive in the fourth quarter as Irving scored 10 of his 22 points, despite shooting 1-of-6 from downtown in the final 12 minutes ... all the whilr working alongside Doncic to lead the Mavericks to victory. 

"It was a total team effort," Irving said. "Continue to build, trust, and chemistry."

That team effort came across the board as Doncic had a "typical'' 33-point, 13-rebound and 10-assist triple-double but it was also the contribution energy from rookie Dereck Lively II and Grant Williams, which helped get Dallas over the top. 

Irving and the Mavs will look to continue building that trust and chemistry on Friday for their home opener against one of his former teams, the Brooklyn Nets.

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Michael Mulford
MICHAEL MULFORD

Michael Mulford is a writer/editor for Dallas Basketball, where he extensively covers the Dallas Mavericks. He also covers the Chicago Bulls as the Managing Editor for Bulls Wire of USA Today Sports Media Group. Mulford grew up in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and graduated from the University of North Texas in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in Recreation, Event, and Sports Management. He began his pursuit of sports writing in 2017 with Dallas Sports Fanatic, where he covered the Mavericks’ G League affiliate, Texas Legends. He then became the Managing Editor of Dallas Sports Fanatic just one year later and has covered the Mavericks as a credentialed media member since 2018, including covering numerous playoff games between 2021-22 and covering the team at NBA Summer League in Las Vegas in 2019. In his time covering the Mavericks, Mulford has conducted numerous interviews for exclusive stories including with Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki, former Maverick and current VP of Basketball Ops Michael Finley, former Mavericks GM Donnie Nelson, and more. You can follow and interact with Mulford on Twitter at @TheMulf.

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