By james art The Dallas Mavericks earned their third win of the 2024-25 NBA season thanks to Kyrie Irving’s outstanding performance on Tuesday. Irving led the Mavs with 35 points, four rebounds and five assists in a 120-114 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves. The game had an intense finish, with Dallas prevailing until the last second.
The star point guard led the All-Star Game as the only player with at least 30 points.
found his shot from beyond the arc and shot 6-for-8. His teammate Luka Doncic added 24 points and flirted with a triple-double with eight rebounds and nine assists.
The newest addition to the team, Klay Thompson, was struggling to shoot the basketball. Thompson had just seven points on the night and shot 2-for-7 from downtown.
After the game, the Mavs star talked about how the entire team stuck to their game plan to get the win. Given Dallas’ history with the Wolves in the Western Conference Finals last season, Irving said they are ready for the matchup.
“We’re just very resilient and we figured out what the game plan was, they were making a lot of threes,” Irving said. “We must stay by their bodies. We know this team very well, they know us very well, so I knew it was going to be personal, with high emotions.”
Kyrie after playing with @StephanieReady after performing the SHOW in Minnesota ✨
35 PTS
5 AST
6-8 3PT pic.twitter.com/nMJktSqTKj— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) October 30, 2024
Kyrie Irving was instrumental in the fourth period. Irving hit a step-back 3-pointer at 2:33 of the fourth quarter to extend the team’s lead to 112-107.
The former top pick talked about the momentum Dallas has started to gain this season.
“We are just acclimatizing. We’re getting into a great rhythm, we’re getting into great shape. We just want to value possessions. Right now we’re just developing that chemistry. Once we get that, then I’ll have a better answer for you.
Irving has gradually increased his scoring production this season. In the Mavs’ first game of the season, he had just 15 points on 6-for-17 shooting from the field. The 2016 champion followed it up with a 20-point streak.
The Mavs had to match Anthony Edwards’ energy, according to Kyrie Irving
The Mavs had difficulty dealing with Wolves star Anthony Edwards on defense. Given their history since last year’s postseason game, the game was considered a personal one for Edwards. Kyrie Irving was aware of this and told NBA Insider Grant Afseth that the team should suit the young star.
“Yes, a little, but not as much as you think. We started this game back to back so we had to find the energy. The way Anthony came out, we could tell it was personal for him, so we had to step in and take some hits. We were down by about six or eight points after the first quarter, but we were in a good position,” Irving said.
Kyrie Irving on whether tonight’s game gave him WCF memories: “Yeah, a little bit, but not as much as you’d think. We started this game back to back so we had to find the energy. the way Anthony came out we could tell it was personal to him so we had to call and get…
— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) October 30, 2024
Edwards scored a career-high 24 points in the first quarter, but the Mavs prevailed.
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news on Sportskeeda. He began as a writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covered the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen with Valley of the Suns, a website focused on the Phoenix Suns, where he has contributed as a writer.