Kyrie scores 42 to lead Mavericks over Warriors

DALLAS: The burden of leading the Mavericks fell to Kyrie Irving in Wednesday night’s clash between Dallas and the Golden State Warriors, as recent controversial trade acquisition Anthony Davis was side-lined with injury.

Kyrie rose to the occasion, scoring 42 points in the 40 minutes he played. He made 15 of his 25 field goal attempts, and seven of his 10 shots from deep. Klay Thompson had 17 points, 15 of which came from his five threes. Max Christie, another piece of the recent trade between the Mavericks and the Los Angeles Lakers, also scored 17.

Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler weren’t able to keep up, with the two scoring 25 and 21 points respectively. Curry struggled from deep, only hitting 4 of his 13 three attempts.

The Game

Jimmy Butler’s running dunk that put Golden State up 6-4 early in the first, but the Warriors wouldnt see the lead again until the final quarter. Kyrie had 11 points in the frame, as he continued to find his way into the paint. He also had one of the Mavericks four threes in the quarter, two of which came from Thompson, and the last from Max Christie. However, Golden State didn’t allow Dallas to pull out too far ahead, thanks to a team effort which both Curry and Gary Payton II scoring five, while Butler, Draymond Green, and Moses Moody scored four. At the end of the first, the Mavericks led 32-31.

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A little before the half way mark of the quarter, Dallas found themselves ahead by 14 points. Thompson led the charge early in the frame, hitting two threes and a driving layup within the first minute and a half. Brandon Williams followed Thompson’s lead soon after, hitting two threes and a driving layup of his own. Irving was the third highest scorer for the Mavericks in the quarter with four points. Despite the hefty lead Dallas accumulated in the first half of the frame, Curry’s seven points, alongside Butler and Green’s four each, brought the Warriors back within one point by the end of the quarter. The Mavericks led 57-56 at the end of the second.

Dallas had their biggest lead of 15 in the penultimate frame, spearheaded by 13 points from Kyrie, nine of which came from a flurry of threes a few minutes into the quarter. Heading into the fourth, Dallas were up by five, 83-79. The final frame was a thrilling 12 minutes of play. Kyrie was on the offensive immediately, opening scoring in the quarter with a layup, before he hit two threes minutes later. He helped the Mavericks balloon to a 12-point lead. However, Butler would keep the game close, as he scored seven points, five of which came from free throws. Curry then took over a little over halfway into the frame, two three pointers and a couple free throws to give the Warriors their first lead since the first quarter, 102-101.

With less than two and half minutes of play left, Kyrie was fouled on the three-point line as he began his shooting motion. He was awarded three free throws, all of which he made. Curry would then equalise with a layup, but Kyrie once again pulled ahead with yet another three pointer. After Butler’s tip in layup brought the Warriors within one, Curry was fouled, giving him a chance to give Golden State the lead with under 40 seconds remaining. He made the first, equalising once again, but missed the second, giving possession back to the Mavericks who then scored four more points.

Kyrie had 14 of his 42 points in the final quarter, while both Curry and Butler had 11. The Mavericks won 111-107.

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