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It was yet another tough loss for the Dallas Mavericks on February 28. They dropped a close on to the Indiana Pacers, after failing to convert on the final possession.
As time ticked down, Kyrie Irving worked to create a shot for himself, before firing up a three ahead of the buzzer. Unfortunately for the Mavs, the attempt didn’t drop and they wound up losing to the Pacers 124-122.
Irving’s night as a whole was pretty forgettable. He tallied just 16 points in the defeat, sinking just 7 of his 19 attempts from the floor.
He sat down for his postgame press conference, discussed his struggles, and also shared what his dad had to say about his off-night.
“I’m human,” Irving told Sports Illustrated’s Dalton Trigg. “I would love to play well, every single night. I was just texting with my dad — my biggest fan, one of my harshest critics. But he’s always gonna keep it honest, and I appreciate that. He’s been watching me play for a long time, and he just told me to stay aggressive, and he said it looked like I was overthinking out there. And I was just telling him that we have new lineups. I’m playing with new guys out there. It’s an adjustment period. As much as I would love to play well, it doesn’t happen as often as you would like. But I think moving forward, when I can ease my own burdens or overthinking, I think things will naturally flow.”
He then discussed the adjustment he’s been dealing with, as he works to transition into the new team.
“It’s the big business, baby. It’s the big business,” Irving said. “As much pressure as I put on myself, I have goals that I would love to accomplish, but all those are pushed to the side because I know I have 15 other guys on this team that are relying on me to do things that they’ve either seen me do, or they’re expecting me to do as one of the best players in the league.”
Mavs’ Luka Doncic Discusses Kyrie Irving’s Missed Game-Winner
While Irving’s father may have been critical of him, his teammate, Luka Doncic, was not.
Doncic told the media that he thought the final shot was a good look.
“It was a good shot, I think,” Doncic told reporters. “It’s Kyrie. He can make a lot of those shots. So, we trust him.”
The Slovenian star then shifted the focus from his All-Star teammate, to the team as a whole.
“I think we should be talking about the whole team, you know, because we play as a team,” he said. “We lose, we win as a team. So, it’s not just about two players, it’s about [the] whole team. So, we got to do better as a team. That’s it.”
Rick Carlisle Sends Simple Message on Mavs Duo
Though the loss was tough for the Mavericks, the night wasn’t completely miserable. Rick Carlisle, who coached Dallas to the 2011 NBA championship, was in town with his new team, the Pacers.
Prior to tip-off, he dropped a simple statement on the Mavs’ new star pairing of Doncic and Irving.
“Nobody’s going to want to play these guys. Nobody,” he told ESPN’s Tim MacMahon before the game.
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