The injury bug bit the Dallas Mavericks again on Monday night, with star point guard Kyrie Irving hurting his knee in the first quarter of a home game against the Sacramento Kings. But despite the pain in his knee, Irving decided to stay in the game for a little bit more to shoot a pair of free throws.
So in pain Irving was that he had to be assisted by a couple of people, including injured Dallas big man Anthony Davis, to the foul line. Irving managed to knock down both attempts from the charity stripe before leaving the game for good – but not before receiving loud applause from the fans inside the American Airlines Center.
Dallas Mavericks PG Kyrie Irving earns more respect with move after suffering injury
Respect for Irving was also shown by fans online. Here are some of the reactions to the Mavericks’ video post showing Irving hitting both freebies.
https://twitter.com/dallasmavs/status/1896746233907249318
“Absolute warrior @KyrieIrving 💙🤞”
“Really matured. A true leader and so lucky to have him on the team. Hopefully it isn’t serious but that didn’t seem too good. Non-contact usually means something really bad. Praying for speedy recovery, God bless you Kyrie 🙏🏿”
“”Unbelievable how much hate this guy took. He’s my favorite player by a mile.”
“Tough dude right there. I’m sorry to see this.”
“That’s an OG. Wishing him the best”
“You just see so much Kobe in that man.”
Before he exited the contest, Irving scored seven points with a rebound and an assist in just nine minutes. The Mavericks ended up losing to Sacramento, 122-98.
The Mavs said that Irving suffered a knee sprain, which is a lot less serious than what many initially thought. There is no official word yet whether Irving will miss time with his injury, but Dallas could lean on the side of caution and, at the very least, let him sit out the Mavericks’ game on Wednesday on the road versus the Sacramento Kings.
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