The Dallas Mavericks captured 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 to a 120-114 win against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The game had an intense finish, with Dallas prevailing down to the last second.
The star point guard led the All-Stars as the only player with at least 30 points.
found his stroke 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, had difficulty shooting the basketball. Thompson only had seven points in the night and shot 2-for-7 from downtown.
Following 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 last season’s Western Conference finals, Irving shared that they were ready for the matchup.
“We’re just very resilient and understood what the gameplan was, they were making a lot of threes,” Irving said. “We gotta stay to their bodies. We know this team very well, they know us very well, so I knew it was going to be a personal one, emotions high.”
Kyrie postgame with @StephanieReady after putting on a SHOW in Minnesota ✨
35 PTS
5 AST
6-8 3PT pic.twitter.com/nMJktSqTKj— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) October 30, 2024
Kyrie Irving was important during the fourth period. Irving hit a stepback 3-pointer at the 2:33 mark of the fourth quarter to increase the team’s lead to 112-107.
The former top pick talked about the momentum that Dallas has started to pick up this season.
“We’re just getting acclimated. We’re getting to a great rhythm, 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 point-production this season. In the Mavs’ first game this season, he only had 15 points on 6-for-17 shooting from the field. The 2016 champion followed it up with back-to-back 20-point performances.
The Mavs had to match Anthony Edwards’ energy, according to Kyrie Irving
The Mavs had difficulty handling Wolves star Anthony Edwards on the defensive end. Given their history from last year’s postseason run, the matchup was deemed personal for Edwards. Kyrie Irving was aware of this and told NBA Insider Grant Afseth that the team had to match the young star.
“Yeah, a little bit, but not as much as you’d think. We started off this game on a 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 dial 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 if tonight's game gave him WCF flashbacks: "Yeah, a little bit, but not as much as you’d think. We started off this game on a 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 dial in and take…
— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) October 30, 2024
Edwards had a career-high 24 points in the first quarter, but the Mavs prevailed.
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen with Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
