After losing to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday, Dallas Mavericks stars Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic are now 0-2 as a backcourt duo.
Even though Irving scored 26 points in the fourth quarter, it wasn’t enough for Dallas. Irving and Doncic combined for 69 total points in the game but still fell short of the Timberwolves.
The final possession of the game was particularly bad for the Mavericks. Minnesota’s Jaden McDaniels shut down Doncic while Western Conference All-Star reserve Anthony Edwards stayed attached to Irving.
Clearly flustered, Doncic and Irving passed the ball back and forth to one another until they eventually turned the ball over. It was ugly:
Mavs failed to get a shot off in their final possession pic.twitter.com/69bDL6Xv1D
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 14, 2023
Already up by three points, Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards said head coach Chris Finch asked if the Timberwolves wanted to foul to avoid a potential game-tying basket. Edwards, however, said they elected to “get a stop” on the defensive end.
Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd said the “next step” for Dallas is to figure out who is going to shoot the ball on that type of possession. He predicts that will take some time.
Despite the back-to-back losses, meanwhile, Doncic has maintained that he has had a lot of fun playing alongside Irving thus far.
Dallas can only hope Irving remains “ecstatic” to play for the Mavericks — especially with the Lakers and the Suns looming as potential destinations for the guard in free agency.
