On Wednesday night, the Dallas Mavericks beat the Los Angeles Clippers by 6 points. All eyes were on this game as Kyrie Irving debuted for the Mavs while Luka Doncic, who is recovering from a right heel contusion, cheered from the sidelines. The anticipation grew through the game as the NBA community were glued to their screens, trying to understand how Irving fit into the Mavs puzzle.
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From the get-go, the Mavs were locked in. In the first quarter of the game, the Mavs bagged 41 points and looked unstoppable. This 41-point marked the highest score in the 1st quarter of the season. Further, they commanded the narrative of the game and barely lost control. Irving led the pack with 24 points, 5 assists, and 4 rebounds. Four others on the team bagged points in the double digits. After the game, Irving was overjoyed and had a wide smile on his face. His teammate and NBA star Doncic smiled pinkly and embraced Irving after the game. With positive vibes, fans rushed to Twitter to comment about the game.
Dallas Maverick fans weigh in on the Kyrie Irving effect
For starters, fans commented about the 41-point first quarter. This number is unique to the franchise as NBA legend Dirk Nowtizski flaunted this number on his Mavs jersey. While commenting about this, they wrote that Kyrie was already making an impact on the team. Fans claimed to be emotional with this sound change in fortune and celebrated the win. However, some predicted that Luka was upset with this splendid performance. Here are some of the reactions:
Luka seeing the team perform better with Kyrie pic.twitter.com/qBbf0WqAK8
— Confused Houston Fan 🙃😕😐 (@Snyphe) February 9, 2023
brings tears to my eyes pic.twitter.com/paZrL7tmqg
— ⛷️ (@luvnuyorknights) February 9, 2023
EVEN GOT A STATUE OF A PLAYER WEARING THAT NUMBER 👌🏽
— Dallas Nation (@TheDallasNation) February 9, 2023
Undefeated in the Kyrie era pic.twitter.com/dJoAZ8VUM7
— Gil (@CampinMunoz) February 9, 2023
The kyrie effect https://t.co/k243olTFRy
— Andrew Dowell (@Dodrew_Anwell) February 9, 2023
That's without luka. May just put up 60 in the first qt. When luka gets back lol.
— Gene Davis (@gened3114) February 9, 2023
Post-Game reactions
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Tim Hardaway, who bagged 19 points in the game, spoke highly of the eight-time NBA All-Star’s attitude toward the team in the?post-game conference. He stated that Irving’s message to the team was evident. He asked them not to look for him but to just play ball.
Following Hardaway, Coach Jason Kidd stated that impressed with the new addition to the team. He spoke about what stood out about Irving. He said,?“His patience, you can see he is at peace with his basketball game. He’s going to play his game and he played that tonight with his teammates.”
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Watch This Story ??Top 5 performances from 30-year-old Kyrie Irving during glittering NBA career
When?Irving was traded?to the Mavs, he said,?”I want to be somewhere where I’m celebrated, not just tolerated.”?Has he found?his team? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.