The Dallas Mavericks finished off a season-high seven-game homestand with an inspiring 125-120 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday during the NBA’s MLK Day slate.
With Luka Doncic missing his third consecutive game due to an ankle injury, Kyrie Irving and Tim Hardaway Jr. led the way by scoring a combined 83 points. Irving finished with 42 points, seven rebounds and seven assists while shooting 13-28 from the field and 13-15 from the free-throw line. Hardaway followed with 41 points, shooting 9-15 from 3-point range and 10-10 from the free-throw line.
"It's the second time in franchise history that two guys scored 40 points. Last year, Kai (Kyrie Irving) and Luka [Doncic] did it," said Mavs head coach Jason Kidd.
"This afternoon, Timmy (Tim Hardaway Jr.) was huge for us -- he kept us in there, he made some big shots. But Kai was steady the whole afternoon; he just took what they gave him. He's been doing this on this homestand. He's leading us and guys are following. He puts us in a position to win."
Dereck Lively II made his return from a five-game absence due to an ankle injury, and the 19-year-old big man was in awe of what he witnessed from Irving and Hardaway on Monday.
“Man … Give them the ball and find the hot hand," Lively said. "Having players like that on the floor makes it that much easier to play offense, and that much better whenever we get the transition going or anything like that. You just got to find the open man. Just find the hot hand.”
Irving has been on a tear since coming back from missing 12 games to a heel contusion injury, as he's averaging over 30 points per game in the eight games since. However, it's the play of Hardaway everyone was raving about after the Mavs' big win over the Pelicans.
“He’s having an incredible stretch right now. He is making a lot of right reads," Irving said of Hardaway. "He is taking some tough shots for sure. I think he is right in his wheelhouse of allowing the work to translate into success on the court. You are watching him make a lot of opportunities for himself and be highly efficient at it. I’m happy for him.”
The Mavs now have a 24-17 record at the halfway point of the season, and given all the injuries the team has endured in the first half, that's a record they should be feeling good about. However, there's still a lot of work to do, and there's a chance the roster could look slightly different over the next few weeks depending on what goes down before the NBA trade deadline on Feb. 8.
“In terms of a personal evaluation, I’m not too deep into it," Irving said of the Mavs' season so far. "It is the early portion of the season. We aren’t even at the All-Star break yet. You never know how things could change in the next few weeks.”
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