Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving (11 years old) takes on Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (top right) during an NBA basketball game in Dallas, Sunday, March 17, 2024. He scored the winning goal and shot the second basket of the final. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
DALLAS — Thirteen times in 13 games since the All-Star break, the Denver Nuggets held the lead with less than 30 seconds left in regulation.
The only time they lost was because of three shots from three of the best shot makers in the world.
Kyrie Irving's off-hand (left) 21-foot hook shot to beat Denver would have been the most in the NBA in the 2023-24 season, had Max Strus not happened to hit a full-court, three-week hive. It would have been a miraculous buzzer beater. Before. With that in mind, Sunday's 107-105 loss left the Nuggets' locker room particularly confused, even as the players shared stunned admiration for Irving and his established ambidextrous circus-shot talent. There was nothing to do.
“If there's anyone who can make that shot, it's definitely him,” Nikola Jokic said. “I was a little surprised, but I'm not. He's a guy who can definitely shoot the ball.”
Jokic was the defender who countered Irving's winning goal from behind his right elbow. This low-percentage shot was the result of some great defense by Denver on the final out-of-bounds play, and could have been by Irving or Luka Doncic. Both Dallas guards started in clusters on the left side, but Kentavious Caldwell-Pope stood in front of Doncic effectively and for enough time to force the ball to Irving. He was coming around the screen on the baseline. Jokic recognized that and reacted.
“It was the same action that they ran, and the continuation of that will probably be Kyrie coming in with a pindown from the corner,” Jokic said. “Me and (Aaron Gordon) switched up and Kyrie hit a really tough shot.
“I think I was there, competing for shots.”
Michael Malone wasn't happy with the result, but he was pleased with the way Denver defended the play. But from the visiting bench, the Nuggets still felt a collective sense of fear after the ball went beyond Jokic's reach. Reggie Jackson, who was in the same draft class as Irving, saw that potential.
“He's one of the most talented and skilled players to ever play our game,” Jackson said.
Irving's former teammate, DeAndre Jordan, joked, “I (extremely) hate Kai.'' “I love him. He's a very talented guy. So if anyone's going to make that shot, it's probably going to be him.”
Doncic made a deep 3-pointer with 24.2 seconds left to tie the score, but Dallas also converted the shot on an out-of-bounds play from the sideline. Gordon was stuck at the bottom of the screen and his contest was too slow at the top of the key. (Doncic deflected credit and instead marveled at Irving's buzzer-beater. “I don't think people understand how difficult that shot is.'')
The Mavericks' 5-0 shutout was a reflection of Kevin Durant's late game-tying three points that ended Denver's winning streak at five, forced overtime, and ended their six-game winning streak in early March. Ta.
The sheer audacity of Irving's shot and the statistical anomaly that cost the Nuggets the game from a more holistic perspective were enough to alleviate concerns in the minds of team leaders. The Mavericks defeated Denver 59-37 and led 23-6 in second-chance points. This was the first time in the 2024 calendar year (34 games) that the Nuggets lost a rebound battle by double digits, and the fourth time they lost a rebound battle by five or more points. In contrast, there were seven games during that period. They outrebounded their opponents by double digits.
Additionally, Jokic went 6-of-16, his sixth-worst shooting percentage of the season. And Murray's 7-of-20 shooting marks the third time this season he has shot less than 35 percent on 20 or more attempts.
“Look at the victory, brother,” Murray said. “We've won, we've lost two, and we're trying to find common ground. For example, my brother hit a left-handed floater from the top of the key away from the basket. It's a great shot. And we were fighting and we were really happy to be in that position and play like that the whole game because we played terrible until the last few minutes.”
Jokic summed up the Nuggets' fate more succinctly on that memorable afternoon in Texas: We made some difficult shots. Jamal made the big three. They made the big three. That's the beauty of basketball. ”
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