NBA Top Five Performances, March 2: Kyrie Irving, Luka Doncic's 40-Point Games Led Dallas Mavericks Past Philadelphia 76ers

TOP PLAYERS OF THE DAY:

The Philadelphia 76ers looked like they were going to rally from a deficit against the Dallas Mavericks. Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic had other plans, ending the night with 84 combined points. 

Irving and Doncic became the first tandem in Mavericks history to score 40 points each. Irving had 11 in the fourth quarter, including six straight points to stop Philadelphia’s comeback bid. 

Doncic finally has a superstar No. 2 to compete with tougher competition. While it hasn’t been the ideal start for the two, Irving and Doncic are still looking to compete down the stretch.

“I was ready for the party tonight,” Irving said. “It was one of those games where we had some special performances. I’m just grateful the work translated because it could’ve gone either way.”

OTHERS:

- San Antonio Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan had a solid performance in the win against the Indiana Pacers. Sochan had 22 points, 13 rebounds and two steals, along with a couple highlight dunks on the night.

- Jordan Poole’s 34 points helped the Golden State Warriors complete a comeback victory against the Los Angeles Clippers.

- Kyle Kuzma had 30 points in the Washington Wizards’ win against the Toronto Raptors. Washington pulled further ahead of Chicago in the standings and improved their chances of maintaining a spot in the play-in tournament.

- Despite the loss to the Mavericks, Joel Embiid nearly led the 76ers to a comeback. Embiid had 35 points in a losing effort.

Jayden Armant is a contributor to Inside the Heat. He is a student at Howard University. He can be reached at jayden.armant@bison.howard.edu or follow him on Twitter @jaydenarmant.