Inside The Nuggets

Kyrie Irving's Honest Statement After Nuggets-Mavericks

Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving spoke after losing to the Denver Nuggets.

Joey Linn

Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving (11) during the NBA Finals Media Day at TD Garden.
Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving (11) during the NBA Finals Media Day at TD Garden. / Peter Casey-Imagn Images
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The Denver Nuggets picked up their fifth-straight win on Sunday night, defeating the Dallas Mavericks despite a 43-point explosion from Kyrie Irving.

Nikola Jokic made history in this game, becoming the first player ever to record his stat line of 37 points, 18 rebounds, and 15 assists. Jokic was one of six Nuggets players in double figures, including Michael Porter Jr. who hit the game-winning shot.

It was a nice move from Porter, who got around Irving and hit the one-handed shot with the clock running down. This gave Denver a 122-120 lead, which ended up being the game's final score.

Speaking after the game, Irving made an honest statement on his individual performance and Porter’s game-winner.

"Yeah, it was an empty performance," Irving said of his play (via Grant Afsesth of Sportskeeda). "It feels good to get some shots to go in, it was a great and efficient game."

On Porter’s shot, Irving added, “But at the end of the day, I closed out to Michael [Porter Jr.], kept him down and on his right hand. I ran him off the three-point line, but he just got in that lane and had a nice floater.”

Irving continued, saying of the Mavericks' defense, "But our defensive scheme could be better. We just got to keep talking to each other, but I do feel like our communication was great tonight. Especially when we were making mistakes, we would come up with a good rhythm."

This loss dropped Dallas to an even 5-5 on the season, which is not where it expected to be through 10 games after making the NBA Finals last season.

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Joey Linn
JOEY LINN

Title: Credentialed writer covering the NBA for Sports Illustrated's FanNation Email: joeylinn52@gmail.com Education: Communication Studies degree from Biola University Location: Los Angeles, California Expertise: NBA analysis and reporting Experience: Joey Linn is a credentialed writer covering the NBA for Sports Illustrated's FanNation. Covering the LA Clippers independently in 2018, then for Fansided and 213Hoops from 2019-2021, Joey joined Sports Illustrated's FanNation to cover the Clippers after the 2020-21 season. Graduating from Biola University in 2022 with a Communication Studies degree, Joey served as Biola's play-by-play announcer for their basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams during his time in school. Joey's work on Biola's broadcasts, combined with his excellence in the classroom, earned him the Outstanding Communication Studies Student of the year award in 2022. Joey covers the NBA full-time across multiple platforms, primarily serving as a credentialed Clippers beat writer.

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