DALLAS — It's harder to describe the shot Kyrie Irving used to beat the Denver Nuggets on Sunday than to say he made it. Lean floater? A left-handed touch shot from just above the free throw line? If it's a shot he practices, can it be considered a prayer? Is it any wonder that his teammates say they weren't even surprised when the ball went in?
The NBA's official commentary described Irving's shot as a “driving hook shot” from 21 feet. It gave him 24 points, gave Dallas 39 wins, and renewed his confidence that the team could be headed to a great end to its stop-start season. This emphasized that Dallas is a dangerous opponent in the postseason that no one wants to play against in a seven-game series, not even the Nuggets, who just won the title.
“I couldn't believe it,” Mavericks star Luka Doncic said. “I don’t think people realize how difficult a shot it is.”
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Irving has practiced this shot many times. “I thought we were a little closer in the paint, but when we looked after the game, we were a lot further away,” he said. His left-handed finishing became so common that the entire team started celebrating it. He holds his left hand and his teammates hold his left hand as he returns to the court. After Sunday's final shot, Irving struck the same pose, realizing he had just used his left arm. But this time, rather than an organized celebration, his teammates responded by mauling him in half court in a melee celebrating victory.
Dallas' 107-105 victory came in a manner typical of the type of team it was during the Doncic era. Although the team only made nine 3-pointers, all coming from Doncic and Irving, they grabbed 22 offensive rebounds and gave Denver a 62-38 point advantage in the paint. overwhelmed. The Mavericks recovered the ball about 42 percent of the time even when they missed shots, and despite having more turnovers, they finished the game with 16 more field goal attempts than Denver. This is an almost unfathomable statistic that shows Dallas' dominance over Nikola Jokic and the reigning champions.
That also applies to the defensive side. Since Doncic was drafted in 2018, Dallas has struggled with the eternal question many superstars pose: How much offensive talent will the team have to sacrifice in order to surround him with defensive talent? , I have been struggling with this. The contrast has never been so stark. Dallas functionally closed Sunday's game with three non-shooters on the floor: Daniel Gafford as a screen-setting center, Maxi Kleber (who has shot 2-of-15 over the last eight games) P.J. Washington, acquired at the trade deadline (he's shooting 4 of 4 on 29 3-pointers in his last six games). During that time, the Mavericks turned a 13-point lead at the 6:18 mark into a three-point lead with 28 seconds left. These lineups give Dallas more defensive stability than they've ever had. They are not useful for very efficient scoring.
Unless, of course, the team has two of the best shot makers in league history. Someone who can throw a 30-foot contested three, like Doncic did on the possession before the game-winner, or a 21-foot left-handed floater before the buzzer, as if it's not difficult. Someone who can. When the Mavericks rebound so many misses and allow Doncic and Irving to combine for 50 shots, as they both did on Sunday, their mathematical advantage becomes even more meaningful. become.
In the previous two meetings with Denver, Dallas was the team that was bullied. In early November, the Mavericks allowed 20 second-chance points in a 68-40 loss in the paint. In December, they lost again in paint points, 60-48. At the time, Dallas had not yet traded for Washington or Gafford, Kleber was still injured, and rookie Derek Lively II had yet to face Jokic, one of the craftiest players in league history. . All that changed on Sunday. In fact, unlike some recent games, it was Dallas' star duo who renewed their defensive effort and were nearly exhausted by the end of the game.
“I think we know we can play when we want to play defense,” Dallas guard Dante Exum said. The Athletic After the match. “We had great properties, great rooms all over the place. So I think it's important to keep it together and make sure we can run a full game when we need to.”
Irving is just as important to the team as Doncic. This is because superstars cannot do heavy lifting alone. This is Irving's 18th consecutive game, his longest since 2016. He has been attending practices and shootarounds in street clothes to see if he can play during the team's stretch run. His availability is even more important as he and Doncic have to meet the defensive burden they face in games like this, which is common in postseason series.
With Dallas' role players struggling to make shots (the group has shot just 33.9 percent since the All-Star break), Doncic and Irving need to be elite shot makers like them. There is. Despite their offensive struggles, Dallas leans toward a defensive-minded lineup, and if Doncic and Irving perform like they did in Sunday's matinee game, that will be a boost. Add to that the team's newfound bullish personality, as evidenced by its league-leading 34 lob field goals since the All-Star break, and it's a formula that works. Despite not having a player on the All-Defensive Team, the team could potentially miss more shots than they did under Doncic if they compensate for it with transition buckets, second-chance points, and a solid defense that prevents them from scoring.
“I feel like we can match up with anyone,” Irving said. “We want to win (against a team like Denver) with the same mentality as the teams that play us. And I think tonight is our chance to prove we've been successful.”
Dallas is a flawed team that may not come close to competing this year, but it's still a team with two of the league's best shot makers and a cast of characters meant to make life difficult. No matter what happens in the standings, this is not a team anyone wants to play against in April. Doncic, his opponent, and Irving, a player who can hit shots that cannot be described in words, are no good either.
(Top photo: Glenn James / NBAE via Getty Images)
