On Saturday afternoon, Kyrie Irving and the Dallas Mavericks took a 2-1 lead in their Western Conference semifinals series vs the Oklahoma City Thunder with a thrilling home win in Dallas. Irving once again “coasted” in the first half of this one, looking to get his teammates involved before taking over during several stretches during the second half, including hitting a clutch floater with under a minute remaining that essentially sealed the win for the Mavericks.
After the game, Irving was nothing if not humble, referencing a recent quote from New York Knicks guard/forward Josh Hart that put the game of basketball into its proper perspective.
“I think Josh Hart had a tremendous quote where he talked about people having 12 hour shifts and we get to play a game that we love… That is the nail right on the head for a lot of us. and the way we feel,” said Irving, per Joey Mistretta of ClutchPoints on X, the social media platform formerly referred to as Twitter. “That doesn’t take away from our competitive spirit and what we want to accomplish as legacy members of the NBA. A lot of us… sometimes we forget that we’re the top of the top. We have ascended here because of a lot of hard work. We’ve ascended here because we’ve sacrificed a lot of family time… because we’ve done little things in order to be great teammates and to be recognized as some of the most special, most talented players in the world.”
The quote in question from Hart came after the Knicks’ win vs the Indiana Pacers last week.
“Our job is to play basketball,” he said, per Caroline McCarthy of the New York Post. “You got people getting up at 6 am doing 12 hour shifts. Those people are tired. For us, we’re playing a game…. We gotta keep that in perspective.”
A huge win for the Mavericks
The Mavericks once again got a stellar performance from not only Irving and costar Luka Doncic but also starting forward PJ Washington for the second straight game. The Mavericks acquired Washington at the trade deadline from the Charlotte Hornets and have looked like a better team on both ends of the floor in the months since.
After the game, Washington broke down why things have been running so smoothly for him so far in this series.
“Credit to my teammates for finding me and putting me in great spots to be successful,” Washington said, per Tim McMahon of ESPN. “So for me, it’s just all fun and games. I’ve been waiting to get here my whole career, so I’m enjoying each and every second of it.”
Doncic also spoke on Washington’s immense impact on the series vs the Thunder and how he has the full trust of his teammates.
“We believe in him,” Doncic said. “He’s going with big confidence, just playing the game and being aggressive, and he’s got to keep going.”
The Mavericks now have a 2-1 series lead vs the Thunder after dropping Game 1 last week, having controlled Game 2 essentially from start to finish and using their experience and talent advantage to overpower the Thunder down the stretch of Game 3. Dallas will have a chance to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the series during Game 4 on Monday night, once again in Dallas. That game is set to get underway at 9:30 PM ET and will be carried nationally by TNT.
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